


Sinking Ships into the Sea

by lillies_and_serenity



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: BAMF Kenzi, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fae Kenzi, Kenson, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Shadow Thief, Super Kenzi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:13:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2633072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillies_and_serenity/pseuds/lillies_and_serenity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post 4x08: Dyson doesn't like seeing Kenzi with Hale. Kenzi can't get Dyson off of her mind. Jealousy, romance, sexual tension you could cut with a knife. Not to mention the Shadow Thief training. Things are about to change in the fae-verse for our favorite friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did, I'd have Dyson handwashing my dishes naked right now.
> 
> This is set during episode 4x08. I will occasionally flash back to times set between the Third Season finale and 4x01.
> 
> This story came into my head when I kept seeing Kenzi's reaction to the crazy things Hale was saying. She just did NOT look like a woman who's world was being rocked. This is completely Denzi, with slight Kale. But Denzi is endgame. My OTP. It may take a bit to get deep into it, but it will get there, and it will be rated M for lemons when it does!
> 
> I may have smudged up the timeline of events during this episode to make it work in my favor. Sorry for any errors, no beta. I love you guys! Enjoy!

Dyson gritted his teeth as Kenzi disappeared up the stairs, throwing an excited smile and a saucy wink over her shoulder as she pushed Hale up the stairs to her bedroom in the attic. The bass was pumping loudly in his sensitive ears, guests were milling around laughing raciously. To his right, Lauren was popping the top on her... third beer? Possibly her fourth. On her other side, Trick was regaling her with stories of his youth.

The night had started out great, Bo sleeping soundly out in the car as Kenzi begged them to let her get some much needed rest, the rest of the gang laughing away swapping stories and teasing each other. Kenzi was in rare form tonight too. She had an extra little twinkle in her eye and a secretive smile ghosting her lips. And the longer the party went on the more PDA his partner and her engaged in; teasing glances, whispering in each other ears, _biting_ each others ears.

The intial kiss they had exchanged made something tighten in his chest. He hadn't been able to put his finger on the _why_ as of yet. Hale had mentioned that Kenzi and him had finally gotten together, however, this was the first time he was seeing them up close and personal. At first he was just thrown seeing his two best friends express themselves so publically. But as it continued, Dyson realized he was holding his breath. Not to mention his grip around his cup had tightened more than necessary. Thankfully, Lauren cleared her throat to interrupt them just as words of protest came to the tip of his tongue.

He shouldn't be feeling this way. He should be happy; his best friend and his... his... _Kenzi_ were finally together. And about to get together in a whole new way.  Hell, he had basically pushed Kenzi right into Hale's arms by pushing Hale to admit to his feelings for her. But the last few weeks, he couldn't help but to think... _what if?_

Since getting Bo back things had changed between him and Kenzi, it was a tangible feeling in the air, a tension that was impossible for him to ignore. They had spent weeks together, basically inseparable. With no knowledge of Bo and their star-crossed love he had felt... _lighter._ The attraction he had felt towards Kenzi was always there in that alternate universe. With no Bo, it was as though blinders had been lifted. Kenzi was, _is_ a force to be reckoned with. Her stubborness and bravery, her optimism and wit, not to mention eyes that could cut through a man, and lips that made you want to beg, and her _hips..._

Dyson adjusted himself discreetly under the table. There were nights were his mind ran on an endless loop of Kensi. The curve of her waist and the flare of her hips were a new form of torment for Dyson.

Having Bo back was a gift. He was not complete without her. She held a piece of his heart that he would never get back. But he was also tired of sharing her with the world, tired of feeling _used_ by her. The last time they had been together, her not being able to look at him, using her fae strength against him to shut him up... It wasn't something that he was able to get out of his mind. And now with her dark powers growing stronger it seemed, he wasn't sure that he would ever get back the succubus he had fallen for.

The truth of the matter was.. He _missed_ Kenzi. Silly, fragile, _human_ Kenzi. And watching her bring Hale up to her room to "get groiny" as Kenz would say, made him want to growl in jealousy.  It also made him feel guilty. For many reasons; he felt like he was betraying Bo for his newfound attraction? Lust? He also wanted Kenzi to be happy. She deserved to be happy with someone that would take care of her and protect her, and Hale would certainly do that.

Hale. Reason number three for Dyson to feel like a scolded puppy. Hale was his best friend. After the haze of the memory tampering had lifted, Dyson and Kenzi had decided not to mention to Bo or Hale about their kiss. That guilt feuled Dyson to push Hale to confess his feelings for Kenzi. If Hale knew that Dyson had persued Kenzi behind his back he would never forgive Dyson. Not to mention the fact that they had lied to him. Or the fact that Dyson couldn't stop dreaming about Kenzi. Or thinking about the fact that she was the one who noticed he was off after he traded his love for Bo's safety. How she fought the Norn for his love. Got herself infected with a fae and almost died for him. How she went back to save him from the Garuda's thugs. How she infiltraded the Una Mens to rescue him from execution. She was constantly surprising him, and the more she did, the further under his skin she burrowed.

He found himself wanting her more with each breath she took. He listened to each footfall on the stairs until he knew they had reached her roon. He listened to the giggling, and the creak of the door closing and the snick of the lock turning.

"Dyson?" Lauren called. "Dyson! Still with us?"

Dyson looked up to see a flush faced Lauren and a glassy-eyed Trick looking at him unexpectedly from across the kitchen island. Lauren held a bottle of Kenzi's favorite vodka in her hands.

"Sorry," he smiled, shaking off his melancholia. "What was that?"

"I asked if you wanted to join in on shots?" Lauren asked, extending and shot glass filled with clear liquid.

Glancing back at the stairs leading up to Kenzi's room, Dyson nodded before turning back to Lauren. "Make it two," he growled.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzi's POV for 4x08. (Sorry for any spelling issues, I don't have a beta!)

 

 

Something was _off_. Call it her "Kenzi Sense" or whatever but something just wasn't right here. The whole situation with Hale, it all just felt... _wrong_.

"Kenzi and Hale. Take sixty-seven." Hale muttered, before closing his eyes and puckering his lips for Kenzi.

_There it was again_ , Kenzi thought, _that ugly feeling in her chest._

She had a bad feeling that she knew what it was, too. Staring at Hale, lips puckered waiting on her, Kenzi admitted it to herself. _She didn't want to kiss Hale._ She didn't want to do _anything_ with Hale. The passion just wasn't there.

She cared about Hale so much. And sometimes she had thought to herself that it could be more. Sometimes she was even attracted to him, though it had felt a little more forced than she was comfortable with. She knew she needed a minute to think. A minute to herself before she made any decisions she would regret later.

"You know what," she exclaimed, patting him on the leg before jumping up off of the bed. "I'm going to go freshen up the Kenz."

Without looking back, she walked briskly to the stairs and descended them as quickly as she could and didn't slow her pace until she reached the safety of the bathroom.

"Crap, crap, crap." She muttered to herself, closing the door and locking it behind her. She rested her back against it and let her head thump back. _Now what?_ She thought.

With a deep breath, Kenzi walked to the mirror above the sink. She stared at her reflection as she organized her thoughts. She had known that she was confused even when she and Hale had kissed after opera singer fae, Ianka, had died. She had told Bo as much when she had admitted to kissing Dyson. All of her thoughts and emotions were just all jumbled up. Guilt for kissing Dyson behind Hale's back, something he still wasn't aware of. And then remembering Bo, and dealing with the guilt of kissing Dyson behind _her_ back, though she couldn't have known she was hurting her then.

And all of those emotions she had felt for Dyson during that time, that raw... _hunger_ she had felt for him. It all confused her feelings for Hale. There was no question of whether she had wanted Dyson then. They were best friends. He had all of this misguided faith in her and he always trusted her and reminded her that she was so much more than the weak, little human she felt like. And _Goddess Above_ that man was sex walking.

When Hale had opened up to her about his feelings for her, she was torn in so many different directions. Then later, all of the adrenaline and emotions of surviving Ianka, and Hale being okay, she had just been so _relieved_ , kissing him back was the only thing she could think to do.

But later...

She had tried talking to Bo about what she was feeling, she really had. But then with D-Wolf getting captured by the Una Mens and sentenced to an execution, all of her troubles had gone on the back burner.

Dyson needed _her._ She was the only one who could infiltrate the Una Mens lair and get him back. Of course, on par for her course, she had managed to screw that up too. Though she did manage to get the inside scoop on a little piece of Dyson's past, which meant a lot to Kenzi. Dyson didn't open up about his past much, so when he did, it was special.

And he had given the shoe to Angel. Which according to Bo had been Kenzi in his subconscious. She didn't like to dwell too much on the giddy feeling in her chest that thought gave her.

Bringing her thoughts back to Hale sitting on her bed waiting for her, Kenzi's chest tightened. She was confused, she didn't want to hurt Hale, but at the same time, the thought of going back up to her room and finishing what they had stated made her squirm. And not in the good way.

Not to say the kissing hadn't been nice. It had been. But Kenzi didn't want nice. She wanted passion and heat. She wanted...

A flash of Dyson's hands cradling her face softly as they kissed passed through her mind. The same hands running down her back and pulling her body tightly against his. His low growl that she felt against her chest as the passion bloomed. The instant heat and throbbing that shot to her core when she felt him hard against her. The gasp she drew from him when he gripped her butt and pulled her against his hardness, her hips twisting against him perfectly, just before he broke off the kiss.

"Shit," Kenzi echoed, looking at her flushed cheeks in the mirror. She shut her eyes to block out the wanton expression on her face. She concentrated on slowing her heart rate, stopping the throbbing that had begun in her core. Her body was more than ready for a hard body, when minutes ago was not.

Kenzi took a deep breath. She needed Bo. She needed her bestie so that she could talk. Try, in some way, to explain the confusion going on in her mind. Hopefully without bringing her sudden obsession with Dyson into the talk.

Standing up straight and steeling herself for what was about to go down, Kenzi wiped her fingers around her lips, fixing her lip-gloss. She smoothed her hair along her shoulders, adjusted her bangs and unlocked the door.

 

* * *

 

"Bo? Bobo?!" Kenzi yelled, walking through the first floor of the crack shack. She had been walking around calling Bo's name for a few minutes with no sight of her succu-bestie. In fact, she didn't see any of the scooby gang.

"Where the hell is everyone?" She shouted in frustration as she stomped back up the stairs.

"Bobo, are you in here?" She called as she swung open Bo's bedroom door, only to find Dyson propped up against the headboard, half asleep on Bo's bed. She smiled ruefully at the wolf and shook her head. "Hey D-Man."

Dyson lifted his head smiled "Kenzi! What are you doing in here?"

She walked over to the other side of the bed and stretched out on top of the covers, avoiding the box sitting at the foot of the bed and the question. "I'm here." She rolled onto her side and rested her head on her best hand. "Where is everyone? Lauren, Trick, Vex?"

Dyson laughed heartily, dropping his head back onto the stack of pillows between him and the headboard. "In surgery."

"Surgery?!" She yelled, sitting up. "Who's hurt?" The blood drained out of her face as her heart missed a beat. "Bo?" She gasped. "Is that why I haven’t seen her? Why didn't anyone find me?!" Kenzi gasped as she swung her legs off the bed, her eyes beginning to burn. "Where is she?"

Dyson frowned and sat up, the fog clearing from his mind. "No, no, Kenz." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to sit. "Lauren's re-attaching Vex's hand." He explained, rubbing up and down her arms to calm her. "I'm sure Bo's fine. She's around here somewhere."

A gush of breath left Kenzi that she didn't realize she was holding. She crossed her legs and sat Indian style in front of Dyson, letting him soothe her. "Thank god." She breathed.

Kenzi slowed her breathing and waited for her nerves to settle. She looked around the room noticing the half a dozen beer bottles and the shot glasses, an almost empty bottle of her favorite vodka lying on the bedside table and found herself smiling.

"Getting your drink on without me, Wolfy?"

She reached for the remaining vodka and poured it into the closest shot glass before tossing it back with one big gulp. "Ahh," she smiled.

Dyson felt that tightening in his chest again, the same one he had felt as he watched her go up the stairs with Hale a little while ago. "I would have asked you to join me but I think you were a little busy." He raised his eyebrow suggestively.

Kenzi blushed. "Right."

Dyson reached to the side of the bed and grabbed a lukewarm, half full beer. "Why are you looking for Bo, by the way? Shouldn't you be with Hale right now?" He tried to sound casual. "Finished already?" He teased.

"No!"She laughed, reaching over and swatting his arm. "I just was just freshening up." She said daintily.

"You look plenty fresh to me." He took a deep breath, a mixture of light floral of Kenzi, the spicy incense Bo liked to light, stale beer and liquor and... Dyson felt his pants tighten and his eyes grow heavier even as his stomach turned. She had been aroused, _very recently_. And considering whom she had just been with, he couldn't help but to imagine flashes and Kenzi and Hale, twisted together, his hands on her body, his mouth... Dyson blinked, hard, trying to shake that jealous feeling in his chest. "Smell's like it too." He said lowly.

Kenzi's eyes widened in embarrassment, even as her jaw dropped in shock. "Bad dog!" She yelled, punching him in the shoulder, and again just for good measure. "That's just gross! Keep that nose away from me!"

Dyson couldn't help but laugh at Kenzi's feeble attempts at hurting him. She was just so... _cute._ Though he would never live to see another day if he admitted that to her. He put his hands up in surrender.

"My apologies, I'll try not to breathe from my nose from now on." He teased.

"Good," she said lightly.

She looked down at her hands in her lap, fiddling with her nail beds as the silence grew uncomfortable.

"Hey," he pulled her hands out of her lap and held them with one hand, forcing her to look up at him. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Kenzi bit her lip, hesitating. Dyson was Hale's best friend. She couldn't talk to him and put him in the middle of the situation. He also was a part of the problem... Then again, Bo was missing, and she _did_ really need to figure out what she was going to do with the siren in her room.

"What is it?" He questioned. "I promise, you can tell me. I won't say a word to anyone, if you don't want me to."

Kenzi took a deep breath. "I think I might have made a mistake."

Dyson's brows furrowed deeper, "With?"

She looked back down at her hands. Dyson's clasped around hers, his thumb rubbing the back of her hands softly. She couldn't think with him this close, touching her, sitting in bed with him. She got up and began pacing, looking only at the walls.

"Okay," Dyson said, "I think this is officially the longest you ever gone without speaking." She shot him a dirty look and flipped the bird at him quickly as she continued pacing. "Kenz," Dyson growled.

"Okay, okay," she huffed. "Don't get your fur in a twist." She looked at him quickly before looking away. "I think I made a mistake getting together with Hale."

Dyson's mouth opened, before closing. He opened it again but words wouldn't come. How many drinks had he had?

"You seemed so happy a little while ago, dragging him up to your room," he reminded her.

"I know!" she moaned pitifully. "I thought I was happy, I really did. But I've been so confused about things lately, and my mind is a mess. But I thought, 'This is the way things should be, Kenz. You and Hale, it makes sense. So what if he doesn't make you feel like a shooting star when he kisses you? That's okay. Sometimes it takes a little while.'" She rambled, pacing faster. "I even told myself that I'm just stressed out about this whole 'human hunting' thing going on." She glanced at him, hands flying as she talked.

"But Dyson," she stopped walking suddenly, looking him straight in the eyes, her hands falling to her sides. Dyson felt his chest tighten in anticipation, of what, he wasn't sure. He was still trying to process the words coming out of her mouth. He waited patiently for her to organize her thoughts.

"I just don't love him like that," she said finally. She took a deep breath in waiting for him to speak now. She fiddled with her hands nervously before settling them on her hips to keep from fidgeting.

For a long moment, Dyson just stared at her. Finally, he looked towards the bed next to where he was seated and patted the empty space next to him and few times before looking up to her. She glanced at the spot next to him questioningly. He simply raised his eyebrow at her expectantly and patted the space again.

She scowled at him anxiously and stomped over and sat next to him. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, knee to knee, they sat, sides pressed together tightly. Dyson wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze as she looked up at him. He smiled reassuringly at her and she smiled back sadly.

"It's all going to be okay, Kenz. You'll figure it out."

"He's sitting in my room up there right now." She explained, "He's waiting for me to come back so that we can make sweet lovin', and I... I can't do that Dys."

"Okay," he said. "So you go up there and tell him you're not ready. That you need some more time. He'll understand." He rubbed her arms reassuringly as she leaned her head against his chest. Dyson swallowed. He liked how she felt there, her head fitting perfectly beneath his chin.

"You think?" She mumbled.

He smoothed down her hair comfortingly. "I know." She looked up at him with a small smile. "And if he doesn't, I'll kick his ass for you."

"Okay," She sighed heavily. "I'll go talk to him in a minute. Can we just sit here for just a bit?" She looked up at him with her big blue eyes wide and innocent. "You give pretty good hugs Wolf-Man."

He smiled at her as he breathed out a small laugh. "Sure thing, come here for a minute." He scooted back to the headboard and fixed the pillows against it. Then he leaned back against it and opened his arms.

Kenzi giggled lightly as she crawled on all fours up the bed to Dyson, curling her body into his side and resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. He squeezed her tighter against him and rested his head on top of hers, inhaling her scent deeply as he closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Kenzi gently lifted her head off Dyson's shoulder so that she wouldn't disturb him. A few minutes ago his head rolled back gently to rest back on the pillow propped behind him. His eyes closed softly as he breathed slow and deep in slumber.

She thought that she had heard Bo calling her name before she heard footsteps going up the stairs to her room. She gently pulled Dyson's arms from around her waist before rolling to the side quietly. She placed his arm back around his own stomach and tugged the throw blanket off the end of the bed and put it around him softly.

"Kenz," he muttered in his sleep.

She stared at him for a few seconds before walking towards the door to find Bo. As she approached her room, she overheard Hale and her talking, whatever it was, Bo sounded upset. She slowed her steps and walked in the room quietly overhearing everything.

"Stay calm, okay. Well the one thing we have on our side is time." Hale said

"God, Hale, why would you put yourself through this voluntarily?" Bo demanded. With his guilty shrug, she realized. "Wait... you and Kenzi?! God, that's just skeevy!" She punched him on the arm.

"Oh-okay, look," Hale said. "It's the opposite of skeevy. I had a chance to perfect my game, so to speak. I swear I was going to tell her."

"I-I think you just did." Bo said quietly, staring over his shoulder at her best friend who looked as though she was going to be sick.

Kenzi felt her stomach drop. Had her decision to not sleep with Hale already been taken from her? And how many times? She felt violated, and... skeeved out! How could he keep this from her? Why would he keep this from her? To keep getting laid? That was... just ew! She had to get out of there, pronto.

"Who's the Yule fool now, huh?" She said condescendingly, pointing to herself as she walked out of the room.

"Kenzi, wait!" Hale yelled over her shoulder.

Kenzi went back to the bathroom and washed her face but it didn't help. She felt dirty, and what she really wanted was a shower. Turned the knob for hot water, Kenzi waited for it to heat up. To make herself feel better, she settled for imagining how angry Dyson would be when he found out Hale had been taking advantage of the.. time loop, was it? To get into her pants. Sixty-seven times, apparently.

She tied her hair up into a high bun and stepped into the hot spray to let the water take her pain away.

 

* * *

 

 

Hale found her later, lying on her bed, trying not to get too upset.

"Came to stuff my stocking with your Yule log again, stud?"

"I'm so sorry, little mama. I was stupid." He said, sitting down.

She took a deep breath before steeling herself. "So many times did we, uh..."

"No," Hale said quickly. "Not once, I swear. I mean, we came close a couple of times but we never uh--"

"Connected," Kenzi finished with an inner sigh of relief.

"Look, I just wanted to make this night perfect. You know?" He looked at her hopefully, looking for some sort of understanding or forgiveness.

Kenzi swallowed and sat up next to him stiffly. "Hale, you and I... We're not ever going to be perfect."

She looked at him, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say.

"What do you mean?"

She looked at her fidgeting hands. "Earlier tonight, when we were..." She searched for the right word.

"About to connect?" he supplied with a smile.

"Right," she cleared her throat and began again. "When we were trying to 'connect', it wasn't working for me."

His face fell. "I kind of got that feeling the first sixty-six times."

"It shouldn't be that hard, you know?" She put her hand on his knee, turning to face him. "I think we need to take a step back from each other for a bit. Maybe put a pause on all of this for a while?"

"Is that what you want?" Hale asked.

"Yeah," she mumbled quietly. "It is."

Hale nodded for a few moments before standing up and walking towards the stairs. "I'm not giving up, little mama." He announced.  "I'll give you your space, slow things down, but I am going to win your heart."

With that he left, leaving Kenzi feeling as confused as ever.

 

* * *

 

Later on, after everyone had left and Bo had just returned, Kenzi went to go check on Dyson. She smiled at him from the doorway. He was just as she left him. She reached out to close the door when the box at the end of the bed caught her attention again. She walked over and looked at it. It had Bo's name on it. Maybe it was a present from Dyson?

Kenzi picked it up and tucked it under her arm. Then, on impulse she leaned over and kissed Dyson's nose, just as she had done once before. Watching one side of his mouth curl up slightly she whispered, "when you know, you know right?"

Her heart sped up slightly. She wasn't sure what had made her say that, and she wanted get out of there before Bo came looking for them. Walking briskly to the door, a quiet whisper stopped her in her tracks.

"Kenzi."

Turning around, she watched his eyes flutter in his sleep as he rolled over onto his side reaching out to the space Kenzi had occupied earlier.

She left the room quickly, still carrying the box, before she could do something stupid.

Like the crawl-back-into-his-arms-and-never-leave, kind of stupid.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos or comments if you're enjoying the story! I have two more chapter written and one more thought out so I'd love some feedback!


	3. Chapter Three Pt. I

_Sweet baby jesus,_ Kenzi thought, swallowing hard.

 Dyson was across the loft from her, sweat dripping down his naked back as he pounded the punching bag in front of him. His shiny muscles rippled under the florescent lights with each twist of his upper body.

 She was tempted to call out to him to let him know that she had arrived for their training session, but after the week she had, she figured she deserved this little treat. But after just a few more punches, Dyson stopped his thrusting and began to settle the bag. Kenzi rushed into action, stepping a little louder than she normally would towards him.

 “Hey D-Man, I’m ready to get my training on!” She said with excitement, taking punches at the air.

 Dyson turned towards her with a grin on his face. He had heard Kenzi come in a few minutes ago, wolf senses and all. He had to admit though, knowing that Kenzi was watching him, and enjoying her warm scent of satisfaction, gave him quite the rush. It seemed as though she was not as impervious to her attraction for him as he had thought.

 Grabbing the towel that hung over the pull-up bar, he wiped his face and neck, before running it down his chest and stomach, eyes on Kenzi as he did. Watching her pupil dilate and her air-punching falter, his grin growing, he finally settled the towel around his neck and walked over to her.

 He felt a growl of appreciation begin in his chest as he took her in. She was dressed down in work out clothes. Or, as “down” as Kenzi ever really got. She wore a loose dark purple tank with a big black heart on it over a black sports bra, 75% of which was visible under the loose top. She also wore painted on calf-length black yoga pants and black sneakers. And wouldn’t you know it, her shoes had no heel for once. She had also french braided her hair back into two loose braids, her bangs styled back so that her eyes were free. She also had very little makeup on giving her face a much softer look to it. It was an interesting look for her, and while he liked the soft, feminine look of her, he also had grown to love the harder, punk look she preferred. Not that he wasn’t going to enjoy the hell out of her yoga pants though.

 “Kenz,” he purred in greeting. “You look good.”

 Kenzi blushed and gave his arm a friendly punch, in gratitude of course, and let her ‘borrowed’ gym bag drop off her shoulder to the floor.

 When she saw the name WOLF MAN flash on the screen of her phone last night her stomach had done a funny little flip. ‘Training tomorrow at my place, 10:00 AM’ it had read. She replied instantly with several texts for more information but all he would reply was ‘Be ready to sweat’. _Yeah_ , she had thought, _because that didn’t make her want to hump him_.

 “Well, I wouldn't want to sweat on Jimmy Choo.”

 “Are you nervous?” he asked curiously.

 He walked over to his kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, finishing half of it in a few long swallows. Kenzi studied the way his throat moved in a daze.

 “Uhh,” She mumbled coherently, tearing her eyes off of him and looking around his place. “Me, nervous? Never.”

Because his place was a studio style loft, everything was visible, from his glass shower and bathroom area, to the work out area with his punching bag, mats and other equipment to the left by his couches, and then his bed along the wall, covers still a little rumpled from sleep. The steel gray, almost blue, satin duvet looked soft and inviting, along with his dark gray sheets. She flushed as she imagined him stripping naked and stretching out along that bed, ready and waiting. _Down girl_ , she reminded herself, bringing her eyes back to his kitchen where they stood. It was a man-cave here for sure.

“You sure about that?” Dyson asked, eyes staring her down. “Your pulse is racing.” He heard it loud in his ears, getting louder by the moment, pupils still dilated wide. He fought the urge to growl and push her against the countertop she leaned her arms on, to give her heart something to really pound over. He wanted to crush his lips against hers, full and inviting, parted slightly. To thrust his tongue into her mouth and tangle it up with hers. He wanted to nibble on her lower lip and hear her gasp his name. Then he wanted to bite his way down her neck and hear how her heart beat then.

She shivered under his fiery gaze. His jaw clenched as he took a step towards her with purpose. She took a step back, almost tripping over her gym bag, and he paused reminding himself. She wasn’t ready, and she and Hale had just called it quits a few days ago. He needed to be there for her as a friend for now, and when she was ready, he would make it clear that there was no backing down.

He gripped her upper arms and settled her slightly, giving her a smile to ease the tension.

“You don’t need to be nervous.” He told her, tugging on one of her braids. “We’re going to take this slowly.”

Her eyes widened at his words. “Take this slowly?”

“Training.”

“Ah,” she cleared her throat. “So what first? Do I do five hundred push-ups, run ten miles, and throw some daggers?”

He laughed as he led her over to the punching bag again and reached down to grab the wife-beater tank he had left there. “First things first,” he said as he tugged it on.

Swallowing, she met him by the mats. And sat down Indian style in front of him when he sat in a similar position.

“Shadow Thieves are just as old as fae.” He told her. “Just as Fae are as old as time, as are the Shadow Dwellers.”

“Shadow dwellers?” she scoffed. “We call those peeping toms here, Wolfy. Or Uncle Vladimir if you know my family.”

He smiled. “Shadow dwellers are humans who have learned to manipulate the realms.” At her confused stare he continued. “When Fae first were revealed, humans grew afraid. They knew that they needed to adapt to change or they could fall below the food chain and become extinct. As it was, Fae were breeding with humans more and more, creating a mixed race. Humans needed something better to protect themselves. The monks were the first to discover this power. Through meditation and rigorous training, humans were able to manipulate the planes of existence to cross from plane to plane.”

“What, like Back to the Future?” Kenzi asked.

“No,” he smiled softly. “Shadow dwellers can’t alter time. However, they can jump from one plane of existence, or ‘realm’ to another.” He put his palms up and faced them towards each other in front of her, but stopped his palms from pressing together, leaving a centimeter or two between them. “There are other worlds just like ours that are parallel to our timeline. When you get that sensation that someone is watching you, or deja vu, or when you see something in the corner of your eye, it is the fabric between those two worlds becoming so thin that for the briefest moments, the two worlds merge.” He moved his hands together to show her.

“So we’re basically seeing things that are ‘on the other side’ so to speak?” she asked, trying to keep up.

“Basically.” He agreed, “Sometimes when that fabric is too thin, things can cross from one world to another. We call that other world the ‘Shadow Realm’.”

“Any only humans can learn how to bar-hop between realms? Awesome!” She shouted.

“No Kenzi,” he corrected laughing. “Some fae can do this as well. However, there are a select group of humans, like the monks, who have learned to train their minds to do this as well. Most fae can’t ‘Shadow Dwell’, their nature won’t allow it. Humans however, are basically a blank slate. With enough training and dedication, a human could essentially cross from this realm to the Shadow realm.”

“No offense D-Man,” she said. “But anything called the ‘Shadow Realm’ does not exactly sound like the safest place for humans. And really, what good could ‘realm hopping’ really be?” Her hands flew up into the air. “What I really need to learn is to shoot fire out of my hands. “Like ‘pow’, ‘boom’, ‘pshhh’!” She popped out her hands, throwing imaginary fireballs and lighting up imaginary fae with her ‘flamethrower’.

“It helps, trust me.” He drew her attention back to him, “Let’s say a fae had you by the throat. You can’t move, can’t breathe. Your lungs are burning and your head is pounding. You see darkness creeping up in your eyes as everything goes does dark…”

She gulped.

“If you were able to use your mind to thin the fabric between our world and the Shadow Realm, you could pull yourself out of this realm and into that one. It would look almost the same. Most people say that it is the exact copy of this world except there is little light.” He watched her eyes grow wide with excitement.

“So I would basically disappear, pop into that world, grab a nice dagger laying around and pop back in behind the fae and stab him in the neck?” She jumped up off the mat in excitement and played out her scenario, fighting an imaginary fae.

“In theory,” he told her. “There are risks though, Kenzi.”

She settled herself back down on the mat. “Like what exactly?” She gasped. “Would I have bad hair in the Shadow world?”

He shook his head. “Probably not. But there are creatures that are in that other realm that aren’t here. Under Fae, spirits, trapped souls, and a lot of other dangerous things.” He told her. “That’s why we need to train your body as well as your mind. You need better fighting skills, to prepare you for these situations.”

“You’re going to train me to be all badass like Bo?” She asked skeptically.

“No,” he replied. “I’m going to train you to be badass like Kenzi.”

 

* * *

 

“You called them Shadow Dwellers earlier.” She reminded him. “Is that different from a Shadow Thief?”

Dyson had her doing some light strength training with free weights. She already felt the burn in her arms after just a few reps. Years of dancing when she was younger had conditioned her legs to be toned perfectly. But upper body strength had never been a goal of hers.

Her personal trainer was a few feet in front of her doing one armed push-ups. And once again, he was shirtless. He was also one of the only people she knew who worked out in jeans. But she certainly wasn’t complaining, she thought, checking out his firm ass.

He looked up at her to check her form every few push-ups. Making sure her legs were still spread shoulder length apart, that her back wasn’t hunched, that she wasn’t over-extending her arm. Not to mention he was enjoying the exposed view of her cleavage rising and falling with each curl of her arm.

“Over the years, Shadow Dwelling became less about self-defense, and more about personal gain.” Dyson told her. “Humans began using their learned talent to rob, steal from businesses, and stalk unsuspecting people.” He switched arms and began his push-ups again. “Fae began to refer to them as ‘Shadow Thieves’. It’s the more common term for it.”

“Think of all the shoes I could steal,” she eyes grew wide as she thought of all the possibilities. She stopped her reps.

Dyson frowned and stood up. Walking over to her he gripped her arms and forced Kenzi to look up at him.

“Listen to me closely Kenzi,” he growled. “Shadow Dwelling is _very_ dangerous. Do you know why you haven’t heard about this until recently?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide in surprise at his fierce expression. “Because just about anyone who knew how to do ‘dwell’, _is dead now._ ”

“From the creatures on the other side?”

“Or because they got stuck on the other side.” He informed her.

“I could get stuck there?!” She growled at him, dropping her free weight to the side, she pushed his chest, without him budging, though he dropped his arms from her. “Why would you teach me something that is going to get me killed?!”

“Because Kenzi,” he growled, “with the right training and dedication, and with a _pure_ heart, it is perfectly safe.”

“And you think _I’m_ pure?!” She asked incredulously, turning around and storming away from him. “Have you met me?”

He rushed after her a spun her around.

“I've been _inside_ of you Kenzi. I know you.” He growled gripping her face.

Her eyes dilated at the image the words brought to her mind. She glanced down at his lips, mere inches away from her, in response. The muscles in his jaw ticked and she wanted to run her fingers along the flexing muscles.

“I was in your body, Kenzi.” He said softer. “I know exactly the kind of person you are. And trust me, you are even more pure than you know.”

She swallowed, trying to calm her hormones that were suddenly coursing through her veins. Her body was aching for something that her heart was afraid to want. Dyson had this way of looking right into her soul and seeing only the good there. It made her want to crawl into his arms and stay there. She wanted that feeling all of the time; him looking at her like the only woman he saw. But she knew that his heart belonged to Bo. She reminded herself that wanting him, would only lead to heartbreak.

Dyson watched her eyes grow wide in wonder, before she closed off her emotions from him.

“I think you’re seeing things, old man,” she said lightly, pulling away from him and walking back over to the weights she had dropped. “You should get your eyes checked.”

He watched her turn away from him and lift the weights up and out by her sides, triceps and shoulders flexing, and promised himself to work on breaking through her walls.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos if you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter Three Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training continues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait! Thank you all for your kudos, comments and follows/favorites! Love you guys!!!

“Concentrate,” Dyson said softly.

He stood only inches behind her, with one hand pressed along her stomach, reminding her to use her diaphragm.

It was getting harder to resist her. To not press just a little harder on her stomach forcing her body to press into his. To not run the hand just a little further in either direction to be pressed against much more interesting areas of hers. As it was, he had been fighting erections all week. 

The scent of her alone made Dyson’s mind cloudy, a drugged sensation he had come to enjoy when he breathed her in. He itched to press his face in close behind her, bury his face in her hair and run his nose along the sensitive skin behind her ear.

“Easy for you to say,” Kenzi replied, just as softly.

The blindfold he had tied around her eyes was supposed to help her concentrate only on the invisible barrier between realms. When she felt it, it was like pressing along the wall of a bubble that refused to pop. It was an odd feeling that she could not only sense, but feel deep in the pit of her stomach. 

After two weeks of non-stop training of her body and mind, Kenzi had just gotten the hang of her ‘spidey senses’ that allowed her to sense the other realms. But so far, she still wasn't able to breach the barrier.

Dyson had been softly guiding her mind through exercises all morning that were as exhausting as his physical exercises. ‘Deep breaths’, her said. ‘The strength lies in your diaphragm’, ‘clear your mind of all things except breaching the barrier’. 

Her skin felt too tight along her body; hot and itchy. She tried to clear her mind but her body was on too high alert. With her eyes forced closed by the blindfold she was hyper aware of her other senses, like the scent of male and sweat and Dyson in the air. Or the touch of his oh-so-hot hand pressed firmly along her stomach, so large that his pinky was only inches away from where she wanted him most. The sound of his quiet breathing from only inches behind her; all of it was too much of a distraction.

She was reaching her limit of control for the day; one that was decreasing every day she spent with him.

“Okay, that’s it.” She huffed, reaching up to pull the blindfold down her face to rest around her neck. “I need a drink.”

Dyson let his hand drop from her stomach, missing her heat already. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Kenz.”

Whipping around to face him, she smiled brightly. “Alcohol is always a good idea D-Man.” She started off toward his kitchen area. “Besides,” she called over her shoulder. “It’s Friday night! We should be off creating mischief and stealing booze from Trick by now.”

Dyson made no move to get closer to her as he watched her shirt ride up along her stomach to expose a small sliver of her back to him. Not to mention she was wearing his favorite off all of her skirts. Black leather, it clung to her hips and revealed a good portion of her thighs to him. Paired off with a pair of high black leather boots, Dyson’s control wore thin. She looked like sin incarnate tonight.

He supposed he could blame himself for this, as he was the one who told her she could wear ‘whatever she liked’ today as it was a ‘mental’ day today, not ‘physical’ as she liked to call it.

She poured them both a couple fingers of the dark liquid and walked back over towards him, hips swaying.

“You know what this man cave needs? A little feminine touch!” She exclaimed, twirling in a small circle carefully. “A couple paintings, some flowers, a touch of paint… You could really spruce the place up a bit.”

He grinned, taking a glass from her hands and taking a healthy sip. “Ah yes, because the crack shack you and Bo live in is the picture of femininity.”

“Touché,” she smiled, walking past him to the couch before flopping down. 

Her muscles were constantly sore these days. Dyson worked her hard. Almost every day they met, unless he was swamped with work or she and Bo were on a case. They alternated between a rigorous physical workout and a mental one. The physical portion involved a mix of cardio for stamina and weight training for strength. He also had her alter her diet slightly. Not that anyone could stop Kenzi from consuming all the junk food and pizza she wanted, but he did manage to get her to consume more protein and veggies to help improve her energy and to balance out her diet. Her alcohol consumption however, that he had no control over.

Kenzi tipped back her glass and took a healthy swallow of her drink. “Ugh!” She groaned in ecstasy. “I’ve dreaming of his moment all day!”

Dyson grinned at her, sitting down next to her and resting his arms along the back of the couch, stretching out his big body.

“You did well today, you know.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“I mean it.” He insisted, “I could feel that power rising in you when you concentrated. You were very close.”

“Funny,” she scoffed in disbelief. “Because I didn't feel any different than I usually do. I keep hitting that same wall. And the wall hits back!”

She tipped back her glass once more and finished her whiskey. It wasn't her drink of choice but it was growing on her. The warmth that started in her stomach slowly spread outward making her body feel a pleasant lethargic sensation.

“You’ll get there,” he encouraged. “It takes decades for some people to learn to cross realms, and you've made this much progress in just two weeks.”

“I guess,” she mumbled stretching her legs out in front of her and pointing her toes, letting out a painful sigh as her tight muscles stretched.

“Sore?” he asked, already pulling her legs up to rest on his lap, forcing her sideways on the couch.

“A bit, my personal trainer is kind of a hard ass.”

He grinned, pulling down the zipper on her boots. “But at least he’s good looking.”

She snorted through her nose. “Yeah, if you’re into that whole ruggedly handsome underwear model sort of thing.” He laughed, a full-bellied sound that she loved, making her lips curl up as well. “But I hear he gives great foot massages, so I guess it makes up for it.”

He pulled off her other boot and looked at her pretty pink toe nails and followed the line of her bare leg up over the arch of her calf, along her thigh and up to the hem of her skirt, which had ridden up higher with her position on the couch.

He wanted to trail his hands up her legs and under her skirt, push it up high around her hips. He wondered which pair of the hundreds pieces of underwear she was wearing.

She wiggled her foot in his face to bring his attention back to the task at hand. “Get to work Wolf Man. I don’t have all night!” She snarked.

 

 

“Mmm… God, Dyson.”

They had ended up with Kenzi lying face down on the couch, with Dyson kneeling between her open legs leaning over her form, massaging the knots out of her back. 

“A little harder.”

After listening to her sinful moans during her foot massage, Dyson couldn't help but suggest they continue the massage on her other ache-y spots. Kenzi was all too quick to accept. He was glad that she had her eyes closed on the couch, turned away from him because his pants had gotten tighter than necessary about 15 breathy moans ago. He was fighting off a problematic erection at this point. His cock felt full and heavy, a tightness in his balls warning him that this massage was no longer a good idea. 

“Ohhh yeah… Right there!”

He had the urge to press down against her ass and let her feel what each moan was doing to him. Her skirt had ridden up when he was working on the backs of her thighs and now a small portion of her ass peeked out from under her skirt. He could see barest hint of red lace even from his position above her. If he were to sit back on his heels, he would get a full view of what she kept hidden. He grit his teeth, feeling his cock jerk slightly. He looked back towards her face, watching the expression of bliss crinkled into a pained pleasure as he pressed harder on a knot between her should blade and neck.

“Ugh,” she breathed out.

His hand followed the line of the muscle, stretching it out before working to loosen the knot again.

“God, Dyson.” She moaned.

“Mm,” he purred in response.

“Where’d you learn to do this?” She asked sleepily.

He snagged his glass of whiskey off of the floor and downed it in one gulp. ‘What was that, number three, four?’ he thought. He put it back down, returning the hand to her tight upper back. She had discarded her shirt a few minutes ago, lying in only a cropped lace… whatever it was, tank top? Corset? Whatever it was only came about two inches underneath her breasts, leaving the rest of her bare. Her straps were tucked under her arms, leaving her shoulder bare.

The image of her sitting up and pulling her shirt off to reveal her lacy undershirt would star in his fantasies from now on.

“I've lived a long time, Kenz.” He said accent thickening. “You pick up a lot of hobbies to pass the time.”

“That sounds… lonely.” She murmured, brows furrowing.

“At times it was,” he said with a smile. “But why would I be lonely… with you here?”

He heard her heart stutter, then beat faster with the images the words pulled from her mind. A flush began in her cheeks even as her lips curled up in the corner. They rarely discussed that time, it was an unspoken agreement.

She breathed out a giggle. “That is a very…good…question.”

Dyson froze, not expecting her to play along. The air grew thick around them. He felt his chest grow tighter and his breathing speed up. Kenzi's lips lost her smile and her heart rate increase even further. She turned her head even further towards him, her eyes going unfocused as all senses focused on his next move.

Bracing both arms to the side, by her head, he lowered his body so that his chest was just barely grazing hers, still keeping his lower body away from hers.

“Kenzi,” he purred in her ear.

He felt the shudder run down her body, her eyes closing, breathing heavier now.

“Dyson,” she echoed.

With a quiet growl he pressed the full length of his body against her now, not hiding his need from her any longer. It was time she understood the effect she had on him.

She gasped, her eyes flying open wide.

“What are you doing to me Kenzi,” he whispered in her ear, his nose caressing the soft hair behind it. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

He moved one hand to her lower back, hot on her skin. He slid it slowly around the front of her body, wedging it between her and the cushions to rest against the middle of her stomach, pressing against it firmly, but still gentle, arching her body further against his.

“Wanting you,” he continued, nuzzling the back of her neck, taking in her scent.

“Needing you,” he whispered pressing his erection into her backside.

“Dyson,” she hesitated.

“Turn around, Kenzi.” He commanded quietly, grinding his body into hers. “I need to see your face.”

She whimpered quietly, feeling his jeans rub against her, pulling her skirt up further so that his jean-clad erection slid smoothly against her. She could tell without looking that he did not lack in the junk department.

His hand on her stomach slid lower until it rested on the top to her skirt. Heat pulsed from him, mimicking the heat she felt building in her as well. Her nipples were painfully hard, sensitive against the cushion below her with only her thin, black bra between them. Her core felt swollen and wet, clit throbbing more with each rub of his hips against her.  
He shifted his legs to the side of her body so that she was free to roll over underneath and face him. And she knew without a doubt that if she rolled over, there would be no stopping tonight.

But she couldn't.

Not for something as fleeting as sex. The risks were not worth one night of sex, regardless of how hot it would be. Images of them pressed together in ecstasy came to mind. Rolling around in bed, the muscles in back clenching as he thrust above her. Her hands pressed against his chest as she rode him, head thrown back. Their chests pressed together as they sat facing each other, him thrusting up into her, rocking her hips against him, grinding tightly. His head buried between her legs, fingers clenched in his curls. Or her favorite; her cheeks hollowing out as she sucked his cock, dragging her lips back up to suck lightly on his head, teeth lightly grazing the sensitive underside, before taking him in deep, swallowing around him as he lost control.

“Kenzi,” he growled in warning, pushing her further against his body, his hand slipping inside her skirt, resting just inches from her core. “Roll over,” he purred seductively.

She felt torn, her body and mind warring with each other. She looked at his hand, the scraped knuckles, and no doubt from punching his bag bare-fisted. The light hair dusting along the wrist and following up his arms. She thought of the strength in those hands, the gentleness he exhibited. She thought about what it would feel like to lace her fingers between hers, and never getting the chance to find out if their hands fit together and knew she had to end this situation now, before they screwed things up between them over a one night stand.

She thought of the wall between realms and felt a burn begin in her stomach, a heavy sensation spreading outward quickly. Her head felt lighter somehow, disconnected from her body, heart rate slowing drastically. Her lungs felt like fire, and she had trouble drawing a breath. She gasped Dyson’s name as the color faded from her eyes. And then she fell into darkness.

 

“What. The. Fae.” 

Kenzi stared at the scene in front of her in shock. She stood just feet away from the couch in Dyson’s loft staring at, well…Dyson.

He was in the same position she had left him moments ago, crouched over her, hand in her skirt, entire body pressed against her, his erection pressed against her intimately…  
Only now he was hovering over thin air. When the darkness receded from her eyes, Dyson was frozen in time and all of the color had been leached from the room, as if she were watching a black and white movie. The clock on the wall was frozen in time as well.

Tick. 

Or not.

A second. That is all that had passed in the maybe forty-five seconds that she had stood there.

And now she had noticed it; Dyson had moved a fraction as well, his head shifted towards where she now stood, his body had shifted a fraction higher as well. As if he understood that Kenzi had somehow disappeared.

She looked around the loft, moving in a slow circle. The shadows were more pronounced, and she felt a cold draft moving about the room, and a chill ran up her spine. Someone was watching her. She knew it with every pretty hair on her head.

The Shadow Realm.

She was here.

 

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.”

Kenzi paced in front of Dyson, his body had moved slightly again, in a crouching position only half-way off of the couch. Ten minutes had past and Kenzi was no closer to crossing back over.

Not only that, but something was in the room with her. She knew it, could sense it each time it glided past her. It raised the hair on her arms, the back of her neck.

“Listen fae-hole, I am not dinner!” She yelled. “Aint no wifey either. So just back off and I’ll cross back over and give you the place to yourself. Capisce?”

Movement to Kenzi’s left drew her attention to a shadow in the corner of the loft. Something was off about it though. It was unnaturally dark, even for this realm. Then it started creeping towards her, and she realized this was the thing stalking her. She just didn't know why. Considering all that Dyson had warned her of this realm though, chances are it wasn't Casper the Friendly Ghost.

“Oh no you don’t. Not this chica, buddy!”

She focused on the breathing technique Dyson had taught her; eyes open this time though, focused entirely on the shadowing gaining speed. She cleared her mind of all thoughts except of the barrier between realms thinning.

Nothing was happening. She didn't feel any different. And she was out of time, with no chance of back-up.

Think, think, think.

Nothing had happened any times before. It wasn't until she was with Dyson that she had been able to cross over. What had been different then?

She glanced over at Dyson quickly. Her mind had been anything but cleared when she crossed over. In fact, she had been thinking that she couldn't lose Dyson over sex.  
She thought of him now, getting back over to him, of losing him.

A gust of air blew on her neck just before her throat constricted painfully. She was out of time. She clawed at her throat, feeling nothing but skin, and yet she could feel the impressions of fingers around her neck. Ice cold spread out from her throat to her chest and arms, spreading fast even as she gasped for air.

Desperately she looked over at Dyson, and knew that she couldn't go down without a fight.

She thought imagined herself walking up to the wall of a bubble and bursting through, until she reached the other side.

Her lungs burned, darkness creeping around the edges of her eyes and her stomach cramped. As the darkness took over her senses she could only hope that this was the other side she was crossing back over to, and not some shitty afterlife.

And then she fell straight through the floor into a pool of darkness.

 

 

“Kenzi!”

Dyson caught her as she fell.

One moment he was purring in her ear, two seconds away from devouring her whole, and the next she had disappeared from underneath him, only to appear about ten feet away with blue lips and frost on her hair.

He was off the couch with Kenzi in his arms before she hit the ground. 

“Kenzi, Kenz,” he shook her lightly, watching her eyes flutter.

He scooped her up in his arms and sat on the couch, Kenzi cradled on his lap. He quickly pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch and pulled it around her, rubbing up and down her arms to create heat.

“Dyson,” she muttered stirring.

“A mhuirnín, I’m here.”

“C-co-cold.” She chattered.

“I know, give it a minute.” He rubbed up and down her arms before pulling her hands from under the blanket and checking her fingers. No frostbite. He picked up Kenzi and set her down next to him before checking her toes too. No frostbite there either. In fact, her feet weren't even that cold.

A heavy cough brought Dyson’s attention back to Kenzi’s face. She had a hand rubbing her neck and the other covering her mouth.

He pulled her hand from her neck and saw the angry red marks on her neck; in the shape of a hand.

“Slow breaths, Kenzi. Slow,” he rubbed along her back soothingly.

She eased back on the couch once her coughing fit passed and brought her knees up under her chin and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“What happened, Kenzi?”

Dyson pulled Kenzi into his arms to lean against him. For heat, of course. She sighed softly, which triggered another small cough.

“Looks like I mastered that whole realm jumping thing after all.” 

Dyson raised his eyebrow. “You crossed over?”

“Yeah.” A wave of lethargy passed over her and she leaned her head against Dyson with a yawn. “It was weird, it was the same as this realm but bleached of color, everything was black and white. And it was…windy. Inside your loft. And cold. Like I said, weird!”

Dyson was bursting with questions, but he could see the exhaustion on Kenzi’s face. She fought to keep her eyes open.

“And the marks on your neck?” He asked quietly, gently rubbing the side of her neck.

“Oh, a ghost tried to pop my head off my shoulders.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“Mm, and turn me into a popsicle.” She mumbled.

“What flavor?” He asked seriously, making her giggle and look at him finally.

“Tahitian Sunrise.”

“My favorite,” he commented.

She smiled sleepily. “Me too.”

He rubbed her arms again. “Tired?” When she nodded he gently got up off of the couch and pulled her into his arms. “Let’s get you to bed. You’re staying here tonight.”

“Mm,” she hummed. “Bed.” She glanced over at his rumpled sheets and frowned, her drowsiness fading slight. “Bo.”

“What was that?”

She sighed and glanced up at him. “Bo,” she said again. “She’ll wonder where I am if I don’t come home.”

“I’ll let her know you were too tired to come home after our practice.”

He continued on towards the bed and set her down gently on the end of the bed so that she was seated facing him.

“You don’t think she’ll be suspicious?” She worried.

Dyson turned away from her, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He wanted to growl, howl, yell. Anything to relieve this tension bubbling under his chest. Why couldn't she see that for once, this had nothing to do with Bo? This was about them, their feelings and no one else’s? 

Turning to face her once more, Dyson saw the anxiety in her eyes and forced himself to settle. Because this was Kenzi, and she wouldn't be Kenzi if she didn't put everyone else’s happiness before her own.

“You’re tired. You’re sore,” he said, matter-of-fact. “What’s there to be suspicious of? She knows how hard you've been working.”

Case closed, Kenzi thought, watching the setting of his shoulders.

He reached over to his dressed and grabbed a t-shirt and an old pair of boxers for her. Walking over to her, he knelt before and set them on her lap.

“Do you need a hand?”

She hesitated, and he understood, “I’ll just keep my back turned then.”

He walked over to his dresser and rummaged around before he found an old pair of sweats. He normally didn't sleep in anything but considering her reaction to his offer of help, he didn't think Kenzi was ready to see him in all of his glory quite yet. 

Keeping his back to her, he pulled off his t-shirt before unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them off. He heard the moment Kenzi realized he was standing naked in front of her. Sparing her, he quickly pulled on his sweats.

“Decent?”

She cleared her throat before answering. “All good D-Man.” 

She stood by the end of the bed fidgeting nervously. As tired as she was, she wasn’t sure that sharing a bed with Dyson so soon after they had humped like two rabbits, probably wasn't a good idea. Not with her in only a bra and boxers and Dyson in sweatpants with nothing underneath.

Seeing her struggle Dyson pulled back the covers and settled in. He pulled the covers down on her side and opened his arms. “Come on, I won’t bite.”

Against her wishes a smile spread across her lips. She tugged nervously on the hem of the shirt engulfing her small frame and shuffled over, sliding into the cool sheets.

She meant to keep a respectful distance but Dyson’s strong arms immediately enveloped her in his warmth. With her back pressed against his warm chest, Kenzi fought back against another wave of lethargy. She fit perfectly there, tucked into his body. She let her arms rest on top of his, holding her close to his body. He smells like the forest in the summer, she thought sleepily.

“Should we talk about before?” Dyson purred against her, his words surrounding her like warm honey.

“Yeah, definitely.” She murmured as she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Next up: The team has a case, Kenzi gets a chance to try out her new skills in the field, and Bo notices her two closest friends are pretty darn close themselves.


	5. Chapter Four Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “One day you may kiss a man you can’t breathe without, and find breath is of little consequence.”  
> "Bloodfever" -Karen Marie Moning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your long wait. "There's so much dialogue between the characters I've been rewatching Lost Girl to make sure I've got their voices right! That and I wanted to bring it back to the start with a good ol' case to solve that I had to plot out! However, in honor of your LONG wait, I threw something special in there for you all! Hope you enjoy it. :)

“So what do you think it will be this time? Ogre? Banshee? Snot fae?”

“Kenz?”

“Kenzi!”

“Yes!” Kenzi startled in her seat before her mind focused on the present. “Huh? What did you say about snot? I am not dressed for snot!”

“Are you okay?” She asked, reaching across the booth to grasp Kenzi’s hand, worried frown on her face.

Kenzi had been acting _off_ for the past few days. Which wasn’t completely abnormal. Kenzi was always a little _off_. But she hadn’t been herself since ‘shadow jumping’…’shadow stealing’? Whatever it was, Kenzi had been quieter than usual, on edge, jumpy.

Bo had been keeping a closer eye on her since that night just in case of another fae possession, but so far she didn’t think that was the case. She made a mental note to ask Dyson about that night again. The first time she asked Dyson about Kenzi’s weird mood he had just shrugged it off as fatigue from their training. Though, he did insist that he was keeping a very close watch on her, so Bo did feel a little bit better.

“I’m fine Bo-Bo.” Kenzi laughed. “Just like the past two times you asked, promise. Wolf-man has just been wearing me out with all of this mental training. I mean, who knew that the physical workout would be easier than the mind stuff?”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and straightened the tank under her studded leather jacket, before her eyes caught on something over Bo’s shoulder.

“Client’s here,” Kenzi said softly, moving over as Bo scooted into her side of the booth with her to make room.

A frazzled young women headed their way. Her blond hair was pulled up into a messy bun and her large sweater and wrinkled jeans didn’t do much for her either. Despite all of that, Kenzi could see that she was a very pretty woman.

“Miss Dennis?” The woman looked uncertainly between Kenzi and Bo.

“That’s me,” Bo smiled and gestured towards the empty booth. “Please sit Mrs. Callaway.” She gestured towards Kenzi. “This is my associate Kenzi, I believe you two spoke on the phone? Can we get you something to drink? Coffee or tea?” Bo waved down the waitress as the client sat.

“No,” she said firmly, wringing her hands together. “Thank you though.”

“What is it we can do for you?” Bo asked. “Kenzi mentioned your husband is missing?”

“Yes,” she said quickly, opening the manila file and sliding a glossy photo across the table. “This is him, this is Derek.”

“Derek isn’t too hard on the eyes, huh Bo?” Kenzi mumbled under her breath.

Bo shot her a look and took a closer look at the photo. Derek Callaway was attractive indeed. With that All American male look about him, he would have been a prime target if she were out on a succu-hunt.

Blonde hair combed back messily, he wore a polo, a nice watch and held an imported beer in his hand. He was laughing at someone to the right of the photographer.

“When was this taken?” Kenzi asked.

“Last weekend,” Mrs. Callaway responded shakily. “We had a barbeque at our lake house. The whole neighborhood came.”

“And when was the last time you saw him?” Asked Bo.

“Tuesday morning. Six days ago.” She grabbed a napkin and began dabbing at her eyes. “He was supposed to get on a flight to Los Angeles that morning. But when I came home from work that night, his bags were all still sitting by the bed, half packed. And the airport said Derek never got on that flight.”

Bo looked over at Kenzi for brief moment for support before turning back to the client. “Mrs. Callaway, I have to ask, is there any chance your husband left you? Have the two of you been having trouble lately?”

“No!” She said angrily. “I mean, all marriages have rough patches but we were doing fine.”

“So why come to us?” Kenzi asked. “Why not go to the police and file a missing person’s report?”

“I have!” She insisted. “They made me wait 24 hours and then I filed. But they don’t have any leads. They’re all convinced he left me but it’s not true.”

“What would make them think that?” Bo questioned.

Mrs. Callaway sighed and looked away. “A few months ago, I got pregnant. Derek was so excited.” She began tearing the napkin in her hand into pieces. “We had been trying for a while, but I had some health issues when I was a teen that made it difficult to conceive. I miscarried a few weeks later.”

“I’m so sorry.” Bo said quietly.

“I didn’t deal with it well. I was depressed, lashed out at anyone close to me. Derek, Kylie…”

“Kylie?” Kenzi asked.

“My best friend. She’s also my assistant.” She looked up from the napkin. “She got me some treatment for the depression and after a few rough weeks, I came through it. She’s actually the one who suggested that I call you guys when the police told us that they had no leads.”

“The police think that he left on his own?” Bo asked.

“Yes but there’s been no activity on his credit cards, or his cell phone since Monday morning.”

“Okay, but he could have taken cash out and be using a burner phone.” Bo insisted. “There are a lot of P.I.’s out there you could have gone to. Why us?”

“Because Kylie said you guys deal with weird stuff. Like supernatural stuff?” She asked skeptically.

“We put the ‘super’ in supernatural, yes.” Kenzi said excitedly. “What’s the weird part?”

“Derek works for a big security software firm. We have a state of the art security system. Basically impenetrable.”

“Sounds fancy.” Bo said.

“It is.” Mrs. Callaway insisted. “Cameras every five feet outside and in every room of the house except for the bedroom and bathroom. Motion detectors, safe room, window sensors, everything you could imagine.”

“Okay…” Kenzi drawled.

“Monday morning, after I kissed Derek goodbye and was leaving for work, I turned off the alarm and reset it as I left so that Derek could sleep for another hour or two before leaving for his trip. The security footage never shows Derek as having left that bedroom. Not through any doors, windows, nothing. As if he just disappeared into straight air.”

“Is there any chance he could have looped the feed somehow and just walked out the door?” Bo asked.

“No, the system logs every time the system is altered in any way. There’s nothing.”

“Okay, that is weird.” Bo looked over at Kenzi. “We should see if Dyson can get us that police file to follow up on their leads.”

Kenzi swallowed. “Mrs. Callaway,”

“Bonnie, please.” She interrupted.

“Bonnie,” Kenzi tried again. “Does Derek have any enemies? Anyone who might have wanted to hurt him? Especially anyone supernatural?”

“No,” she said strongly. “Everyone loves Derek. He’s the leader of our Neighborhood Watch, he hosts football Sundays, is involved with the youth at our church… He’s one of the good guys.”

Bo reached across and out her hand on top of Bonnie’s. “We’re going to do everything we can to find Derek, okay?”

She nodded silently, tears filling her eyes.

“Were you the last person Derek spoke to on Monday?”

“No,” Bonnie shook her head. “He called Kylie, they spoke for two or three minutes in the morning. No one’s heard from him since.”

“We’re going to need to speak with Kylie.” Bo informed her.

“Of course,” Bonnie said. “She wants him found almost as much as I do.”

“Okay, well we’ll be in touch shortly. We’re going to follow up with the police reports to see if there’s anything they missed.”

Bonnie stood from the booth and collected her bag. “Please, find my husband.” She said before turning and walking back towards the diner door.

“Well I don’t think it’s a snot fae.” Kenzi said.

Bo turned to Kenzi. “We need to get a copy of that police report.”

Kenzi took a big gulp of her coffee. “Oh, the assistant did it, for sure! That’s always how it is on those crime shows.”

 “Well either way,” Bo grinned, “we’re going to have to go see Dyson and Hale.” She paused, smile fading. “Is that going to be weird for you?”

Kenzi coughed, choking on her coffee. “Weird?” Her eyes grew wide. “Why would that be weird for me? Weird how? No weirdness!”

Bo’s eyebrows drew together, “Because of you and Hale breaking up?” She said slowly. She reached out and put a hand to Kenzi’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay? You two just broke up. You haven’t forgotten already have you?”

“Oh,” Kenzi squeaked. “Hale. No, no, it’ll be fine. I can handle it.”

“You sure?” Bo asked, waving down their waitress again. “You two haven’t spoken since you ended it?”

“No,” Kenzi frowned. She actually hadn’t even really thought of him much since then. Which made her feel even guiltier than her messed up attraction to Dyson…whom she’d been avoiding for the past few days.

“Well I’ve got your back, Kenz.” Bo said, leaving a few dollars on the table to cover the coffees and stood up. “Right now, we’ve got a vanished husband to find.”

 

* * *

 

Dyson was not having a good morning. The district attorney informed him that the case he just wrapped up today was probably never going to see court, and the asshole that had burglarized twelve family homes in the past two weeks would probably get a plea deal because of some family connections. He had a Mt. Everest sized headache building that aspirin hadn’t touched. And Kenzi still wouldn’t answer any of his calls or texts. It had been three days since he had seen her and his wolf was practically howling at this point.

It had surprised him; his wolf’s reaction to Kenzi’s absence from his life. He had always considered her pack, their past circumstances basically demanded it. But now, it was clearer than ever that something had changed for his wolf. He couldn’t quite explain the sensation, it was a hunger, an ache, a compulsion that had him driving absentmindedly towards the crack-shack after work, and seeking out her long, dark hair at the Dal.

So when she trailed into the precinct behind Bo just before lunchtime, his wolf started clawing at the walls.

“Bo, Kenzi,” he called. “This is a surprise.”

Bo walked towards him with that purposeful way that a lioness stalked her pray. Kenzi just shuffled behind her, looking at her nails, feet, anything but him it seemed.

“We need some information for a case,” Bo announced, sitting on his desk facing him. “Is Hale here?” She asked looking around.

“Picking up some lunch.” He said leaning back in his chair. He looked directly at Kenzi who had eased down into the chair on the side of his desk, and was now flipping through a confidential file. “You need him for something?” He all but growled.

Bo looked back at Kenzi frowning. “I don’t think Kenzi was too excited to see him.”

“The Kenz is right here, dudes.” She said distractedly. “Is this a dead reindeer?” She asked pulling a photo from the file. She finally looked up, eyes wide. “Did someone kill Fae Santa’s reindeer?!”

Dyson reached over and snatched the photo and file from her. “Keep it down,” he growled.

“So they did?!” She mock whispered, leaning forward towards him.

“You know I can’t say, Kenz.”

“Just blink once if it’s true.”

He blinked.

“Okay, was that a blink because you had to blink or was that a blink because someone killed Rudolf?” She looked at Bo. “A little help here Bo-Bo!”

“Our case involves a missing husband.” Bo said. “Security system shows no one entering or leaving the premises so it looks like he disappeared into thin air. He’s been missing for a little less than a week. Derek Callaway?” She asked. “Sound familiar?”

Dyson forced his gaze away from Kenzi to meet Bo’s eyes. “Yeah, the wife was in a few days ago to file a missing person’s but there’s no case. They had undergone marriage counselling last year, the wife is on heavy duty prescription medication… It looks like he might have left willingly.”

“But no hits on his phone or credit cards? Just stops showing up to work. That doesn’t sound a little off to you?”

“Of course it does, but if we investigated every missing husband, we’d never sleep.”

“Can you check if there’s been any recent withdrawals from his accounts or hits on his phone?” Kenzi butted in. “Maybe he’s got a hot mistress on the side.”

“We have access to incoming and outgoing calls and messages. Let me see if there’s anything new.”

Dyson rolled up the cuffs on his collared shirt and began quickly typing away.

“No chance of accessing his photos? Maybe he’s got pictures of his dirty mistress.” Bo said.

“Not unless they were backed up on cloud storage—“

“Cousin Vladimir can hack in and snoop around. He owes me for the duck incident.”

“I’m not even going to ask,” Bo said. “Just have Cousin Vladimir be quiet about it alright?”

 “Yes sir,” Kenzi saluted.

Dyson’s typing faltered as he looked up from the screen at Kenzi, eyes darkening. He could imagine her saying that under much different circumstances. And now that he thought about it, the desk might be able to factor into this particular fantasy as well.

He found that his mind was on a constant loop of fantasies about his raven-haired thief. Ever since their morning together, he knew that it was just a matter of time before Kenzi caved to her desires. And now he knew the scent of said desire intimately.

 

* * *

 

_Three Days Earlier_

 

The first thing Dyson noticed was her scent. Kenzi always smelled like flowers after a hard rain, with just hint of spice from Bo’s incense she was always lighting. He wondered if she tasted the same, like a dewy flower with a little kick. He swallowed the sudden excess moisture in his mouth and tried shifting to a more comfortable position. The warmth along his left side was the next thing he became aware of. Opening his eyes slowly, he realized why. In their sleep, he and Kenzi had shifted positions. Kenzi was draped across his left side, her head and left hand resting on his bare chest as well as her left leg thrown casually over the one he had tucked between hers. And his hands…

His wolf began to awaken as well.

One of his hands were tucked behind her bare thigh partially under the boxers he had lent her, holding the leg over his hip. The other hand was curled into her long locks, holding her head against his upper chest, directly over his steadily increasing heartbeat.

Dyson lifted his head from the pillow to nuzzle his face against the top of Kenzi’s head, memorizing her addicting scent. He felt, more than heard, Kenzi’s heartrate pick up just as she began to unfurl like a kitten, stretching her arm out further around him as well as rubbing her face into his warm skin. He knew the moment she became aware of their arrangement because she suddenly froze mid-stretch.

Her sleepy eyes blinked up at him.

“Dyson?” Her voice scratched out.

“Hmm,” he hummed an acknowledgement, a question, he wasn’t quite sure. “How are you feeling?”

His fingers sank further into her hair as he began a gentle massage against the back of her scalp.

 “Unghh.”

Her eyes fell back shut, pressing her forehead against his chest, forgetting what she had planned on saying. She made another one of those humming, moaning sounds from the night before and the reaction was the same.

Like an electric current ran up his spine, Dyson felt every part of himself stiffen at the sound. Something between a growl and purr started in his throat. He squeezed Kenzi’s bare thigh, giving her a second to lift her face, for her eyes to widen up at him as she realized where her leg rested.  Dyson smoothed it down to the soft skin of her knee and quickly pulled it up along his body until her leg was hiked over his hip.

This brought Kenzi’s center pressed intimately against Dyson’s hip. And her leg was pressed intimately against little Dyson. Okay, _not so little Dyson_. Her body flushed with heat and she found that breathing was much more difficult.

Dyson’s nose flared as his nose caught a new scent, and his body moved before his mind caught up. Keeping his grasp on her leg and nape of her neck firm, he rolled her onto her back, his hips sliding effortlessly between her hers, keeping her tucked securely beneath him.

Her gasp was preceded by a wave of her sweet arousal, causing Dyson’s head to fall in the space between her shoulder and neck.

“You are making this very hard for me, Kenzi.” Dyson growled and felt the shiver run through her.

“I can tell,” she whispered resisting the urge to move her hips along his where he was pressed against her lower stomach.

Dyson lifted his head and brought his face close to hers, forcing her eyes to meet his.

“I can’t help it.” He glanced at her lips, “Especially when I can smell how ready your body is for me.”

Her eyes widened. “I—you, you… I was having a good dream.”

“Oh?” He purred, rubbing his nose along hers, his breath fanning her lips. “Was I in this dream?”

“Maybe.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off of his lips. She had been dreaming of that mouth for weeks. Those drugging kisses they had shared a few weeks ago when Bo was gone made her only want more. To feel those kisses all over.

“Tell me Kenzi,” he moved his head back down to her neck and whispered against her. “Did I do this in your dream?”

His lips placed a gentle kiss on her pounding pulse. Her gasp was exactly the answer he needed. He placed another kiss, this time taking the time to taste her skin with a little suck that had her pressing her head back into the pillow under her head. He felt her nipples harden against his chest, little points that dragged against him as her chest heaved.

His mouth followed the smooth line of her neck to her collar bone where he pressed a biting kiss, his teeth imprinting her skin, causing her fingers to grip the skin of his back. She arched her back for him, encouraging him to continue. He lowered his body along hers slightly, which aligned their lower bodies perfectly. He looked into her eyes, pupils blown wide, eyes dark like a stormy sea and pulled her knee further up his hip, opening her to his body further.

“Dyson” she gasped, hips arching up against his.

He trailed his kisses up her neck and over her chin, pressing biting kisses against her. He finally pulled away by merely an inch and meeting her eyes.

“Tell me what you want Kenzi.”

She ran her hands down the skin of his back, muscles shifting as she went. She bit her lip and stared into his eyes.

‘What didn’t she want?’ Kenzi thought. His mouth on hers, his naked chest pressed against her naked chest, hands gripping her thighs tightly, hips rolling on top of hers, that hard length spreading her tight inner muscles, making it hurt in the best way. A pounding rhythm that would make her beg. ‘To wake up like this every morning, for starters’ she thought.

 “Dyson,” she began.

“Tell me,” he bit down on her ear lobe, sucking softly.

“Ah—“

A loud ringing cut through the haze surrounding them and pulled Kenzi’s attention to her bag laying by the kitchen. Her body sank back into the bed, hands falling off of his warm back to the cool sheets of the bed. She turned her head from him towards where her bag lay. Dyson, sensing her pulling away, propped himself on his elbows by her head, caging him in.

“You didn’t give me an answer,” he purred.

“That’s probably Bo,” she said instead, looking somewhere around his collarbones.

“Kenzi,” Dyson growled at her. “You can’t keep avoiding this. It’s happening, no matter how much you want to deny it.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Looking him directly in the eyes, Kenzi pushed firmly against his chest this time, and Dyson rose off of her allowing her to slide out from under him and off the bed. She tugged the hem of her borrowed boxers down further towards her knees before running her hands through her dark locks, further mussing up the already sexy bed hair she was sporting.

“I’m perfectly aware of how messed up this is, thank you Wolfy.”

She turned her back to him and began gathering her clothing quickly. She heard the bed shift behind her and knew that Dyson was approaching her. She knew she was correct when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, stopping her frantic movements.

“There’s nothing messed up about two people who care about each other giving it their best shot.” He lowered his head along hers to whisper in her ear. “And honestly, I don’t think I can keep my hands to myself anymore. I’ve been fighting it since before we kissed.”

 “I can’t think about this right now, Dys.” Kenzi sighed. “Please.”

Dyson turned her body towards his to look in her eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

“You asked me what I want,” Kenzi reminded him. She grasped him by the face, hands along those amazing cheekbones. “But what I _need_ is more time.”

He nodded and let his hands drop back to his sides. He stood there silently as she ran around his loft collecting her things and stuffing them into her gym bag, not bothering to change. His wolf was howling at the knowledge that Kenzi was leaving them. The man wasn’t happy either.

“Kenzi,” he called when she pulled open his door. Her eyes met his. “Next time I have you in my bed, I’m not letting you back out.”

And although he could tell she fought it, a small grin escaped her as she walked out.

 

* * *

 

_Present Day_

 

“Earth to wolf-man,” Kenzi called, hand waving in front of his face, bringing Dyson’s attention back to the present.

He grasped her hand and brought it back down to the desk with his, still firmly in his grasp.

“Sorry, it’s just that I, uh—I had a really good dream the other day.” He smirked at Kenzi. “It was… intense.”

“Woah, wolfy… No one wants to hear about your sex life.”

Blushing, Kenzi kept trying to pull her hand out of his grasp, while he held tight. Rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. ‘He wasn’t even trying to be subtle,’ she thought.

“I second that,” Bo said with a sour face. “So did Derek make any big cash withdrawals before he disappeared?” Bo asked.

“Hm?” He grunted, eyes not leaving Kenzi. “No, no recent withdrawals. Doesn’t mean that he didn’t go to a friend for help. The Jones’ have a lot of rich friends.”

“Where do I find friends like that?” Kenzi mumbled.

“We’re not enough for you?” Dyson batted his eyelashes prettily. “I’m wounded.”

“I’ll show you wounded,” she said, finally tugging her hand free and swatting his chest.

He laughed at Kenzi, and with a start Bo realized how long it had been since she had heard him laugh. Guilt flooded her as she realized she hadn’t been the best of friends to him lately. She was glad he and Kenzi had grown even closer while she was gone.

“Can I see the credit card statements from the last three months?” Bo asked.

Dyson swiveled around in his chair. “Rodriguez!” He called. “Can you show Bo the credit card statements from the open Derick Jones missing person case?”

“Sure,” he nodded in the direction of the case file room and Bo hopped off the desk to follow without a word.

Kenzi moved to follow but Dyson stood quickly and grasped Kenzi by the wrist.

“Follow me.”

“Not like you’re giving me much of a choice,” she said, stumbling behind him.

Dyson pulled into an empty interrogation room, he walked around the room once, checking corners and sniffing god knows what. He peeked up at the camera to make sure it was off before crossing his arms and nodding at one of the chairs.

“Sit.” It wasn’t a question.

“Dyson—“

“Sit, Kenzi.” He moved towards her until he was invading her space. “Or I’ll make you.”

Kenzi huffed, sliding onto the metal table top in front of him and mimicked his stance, arms crossed.

“We need to talk.”

“Look at us,” she chirped. “We’re talking right now. Okay, conversation over.”

She pushed off the table, trying to slide around him. He took her by the shoulders and effortlessly moved her back to her previous seat moving a step closer to her.

“I meant what I said the other day,” he told her. “You can’t keep ignoring that things between us are changing.”

“It’s not like I’m trying to be Spacy Stacey, Dys.” She said. “It’s not just us that gets affected by this whole thing.”

“You mean Bo? Not everything is about her.” He growled. “We get to come first too. The last few years it’s been all about her. Don’t you think it’s time for your wants, your desires to take some precedence?”

“It’s not just Bo. Although she is _my_ best friend and the supposed love of _your_ life, your _mate_.” She reminded him, voice rising. He made a move to speak, but she rushed on. “And then there’s Hale. _Your_ best friend. _My_ ex-whatever.”

“It’s Hale, he’ll find himself a set of twins and he’ll get over it.”

Her eyes narrowed and she lid off the table towards him. “First of all,” she sashayed to him, hips swinging. “You don’t just get over The Kenz.” She poked him in the chest. “Second on all,” _poke_. “Hale told me that he was going to do whatever it took to win me back.” _Poke._

Dyson flattened her poking hand against his chest and spun her, crowding her against the wall, the other hand caging her by her head. He knew the moment her heartrate picked up, the moment she grew aroused by his proximity.

“And you, Kenzi?” His voice was the equivalent of warm, dripping honey. “Do _you_ want him to do everything he can to win you back?”

“You know I don’t,” she murmured. “That doesn’t mean I can just move in on his best friend.” She dropped her eyes to her fingers pressed against his heart, and dug her fingers into his skin lightly. “You’re my best friend too Dyson,” she said it softly, like it was a secret.

His body relaxed slightly as his wolf began a soft inner purr, _the baby_. He rubbed his hand on top of hers and crouched slightly so that his eyes were level with her. “You’re my best friend too, Kenzi.”

 “So you get what I’m laying down?” She asked. “There’s complicated and then there’s c _omplicated_.”

“Aren’t the best lovers always friends first?” He asked, smiling.

“I wouldn’t know,” she sniffed. “Not all of us grew up chasing dinosaur tail like you did.”

He laughed loudly, making Kenzi’s heart leap. She loved that sound.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m only fifteen hundred and twelve.” He offered.

Her smile fell. “And there’s problemo numero two-hundred.”

“I didn’t know a little age difference bothered you.”

“A _little_ age difference?” She laughed. “Try again, Fido.”

“Is it the age difference, or the non-aging difference?”

“Ding ding ding, give the dog a biscuit.” She frowned. “I’m just a human, Dys. You’re going to keep being a specimen of male perfection, and I’m going to be a bag of saggy skin and bones in a few decades.”

“One thing at a time Kenzi. But for your information, there are ways around that issue,” Dyson told her quietly. “If you want to hear about them one day.”

Her eyes widened, “Okay…”

“But as far as our other best friends also being our exes,” he said, tugging her hips against his own. “I guess I’ll just have to prove to you that being with me is worth a little _complicated_.”

“Oh,” her lips curled up in a flirtatious smile. “And how do you plan on doing that exactly?”

Her smile was contagious as he leaned into her, nose brushing along hers. Heat flushed along her body instantly, and her lips began to tingle.

The door creaking caused him to jerk his head back just as Bo came barging in.

“Here you guys…are?” Her words trailed off as she took in the two of them pressed against the wall. “What’s going on?”

“Uh—“Kenzi looked at Dyson for help.

Bo narrowed her eyes, “Dyson, are you picking on Kenzi again?” She marched towards them. “What have I said about picking on the human?”

Dyson reluctantly pulled away from Kenzi. “We were just uh—working on some shadow thief stuff.”

Bo raised her eyebrows in disbelief, arms crossing.

“Right, um. Self-defense stuff for when I’m realm hopping.”

“Okay…” Bo drawled suspiciously. “Well the credit card statement showed zilch. So I guess we should head over to the Jones house and see if there’s any clues.” Bo said. “We can have the assistant meet us there.”

“Lead the way, Bo-Bo.”

With one more suspicious glance between the two of them, Bo spun on her heel and strolled out. Dyson caught Kenzi’s arm as she glided past him.

“No more skipping training,” Dyson scolded. “You’ve missed three days. You won’t miss any more.”

“Yes sir!” She saluted.

One moment she was grinning up at him and the next, his mouth was on hers. He pulled her against him and fitted himself against her body. His kissed like he was going into battle. His strong mouth caressed hers, his tongue teased along her own. His hands fell to her leather cupped bottom, squeezing her firmly before pulling her up so that she could wrap her legs around his hips, aligning her mouth with his perfectly.

She dug her hands into his curls and slid her tongue into his mouth, tasting deep into his mouth, sucking firmly on his tongue.

“Dyson!” Hale called from down the hall. “Food’s here.”

“Shit,” Dyson pulled away with a curse, gasping.

“Romantic.” Kenzi parroted, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah,” Bo called. “Places to be, Kenz.”

“Shit balls,” Kenzi held a hand to her mouth, chest heaving. “Down dog, put me down! Hurry.”

He dropped her back to her feet and took several steps back until he bumped up against the table, grasping it until his knuckles turned white.

“You should go,” he growled, eyes flashing yellow. “Now!”

“Good idea,” she said, watching his chest heave, eyes blown wide. Until her eyes caught her reflection behind him which spurred her into action. “Oh no, no, no, no.” She gasped. “Coming Bo!” She called out to her as she adjusted her mussed hair.

Her lipstick was smudged all around her mouth. She hastily rubbed at her lips until it she got as much of the stain off as could.

“You look beautiful,” Dyson said quietly, eyes locked on her reflection. “Go.”

She whirled around and met his eyes.

“So should we talk about before?” She teased.

“Yeah, definitely.” His lips turned up. “Now go, I’ll be out in a minute.”

He looked pointedly down at his lap where his jeans sported a noticeable bulge. She felt her body temperature rack up another few degrees and she bit her lip trying to contain a smile as she walked towards the open doorway.

“Like I said,” she walked backwards, smiling. “Down boy.”

Her smile faded as soon as she turned the corner of the hallway and saw Hale and Bo talking animatedly, and they guilt flooded her once again. She hadn’t seen Hale since the whole breakup fiasco since she spent all of her time taking cases with Bo or training with Dyson. She hadn’t even had time to stop by the Dal and see Trick lately.

“Okay people,” she said. “I’m ready to roll.”

“Hi Kenzi,” Hale said bashfully. “You look beautiful today. Not that you don’t always look beautiful, you just, uh loo—look even more beautiful than usual.”

Bo and Kenzi fought their smiles as they had a moment of mental telepathy with each other.

“Oh-kay,” Bo drawled. “Well, Kenz and I have to check out our missing person’s house.” She patted Hale’s chest. “See you later, Hale.”

“Kenzi, can I—can I borrow you for a minute?”

He looked at her imploringly and Kenzi met Bo’s eyes for help. After another bout of mental telepathy Bo started backing away.

“I’ll just wait in the car for you.”

“Bo—“ Kenzi called.

“Don’t be long,” she called. “The assistant is meeting us there.”

“Uh…kay?” She mumbled after.

“Kenzi, can we…” He sat at his desk chair and angled it towards the one at the end of his desk and gestured for her to sit.

“I guess,” she mumbled still. Clearing her throat, she asked louder, “what do you want to talk about?”

He gave her a glace that said ‘ _really_?’

“I was hoping we could have a drink at The Dal tonight. Catch up? Talk about… _things_?”

“Hale,” she started, looking down at her hands. “I haven’t changed my mind what I said last week,” she said softly.

“But you were feeling it too.” He argued. “We’ve been bantering for years, dancing around each other.”

“I know.” She agreed. “But it just didn’t feel right. It felt forced, Hale. That’s not the way it should feel.”

“You barely gave it a chance.” He said. “I’m not asking for much. Let’s just have a drink, like old times.”

“As friends,” she said.

“But with an open mind,” he reached out and grasped one of her hands. “I still want to give us a shot.”

“I don’t know, dude, I don’t want to lead you on.”

“You won’t be,” Hale said. “Just friends, promise.” She made a face. “Dal, tonight? 8 o’clock?”

She opened her mouth to answer, just as Dyson came strolling behind her.

“She can’t,” Dyson told Hale. “She’ll be at my place tonight.”

“Wha—“ Kenzi huffed.

“We’ve got to catch up on training, since you missed so many days,” he smiled as he sat down at his desk.

Hale’s smile soured as he looked between the two, brows furrowed.

“She’s already got plans tonight, brother.” Hale said.

“Does she?” His smile widened as he glanced at Kenzi, brows raised.

“ _She_ is right here, fae-holes.” She glanced between the two cops, having a good ‘ol standoff. “And _she_ has a missing person to find.” She stood quickly and walked out, throwing a peace sign up as she strutted out. “Laters.”

 

* * *

 

 

“What took you so long?” Bo asked as Kenzi climbed into the car.

“A pissing contest, apparently.”

“Huh?” She asked as she pulled out of the station.

“Don’t ask.” She mumbled rubbing her temples as a headache set in. She sunk further into the seat as Bo steered them towards the Callaway house. “Let’s just find Derek.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up being way longer than initially planned so I've decided to break it up into three parts. Leave me some love, angels!


	6. Chapter 4 Pt II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bo and Kenzi dig a little deeper into the case. Dyson makes it very clear that he's not backing down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves! I re-published the previous chapter as I made some changes that I felt was more in-character and true to the story. With that in mind, please make sure to re-read that chapter, as it's part of this "episode", along with Pt III which should be up in a few days.
> 
> P.S. Were about to start getting LEMONY. There's just some mild citrus in this one, but be warned, it's coming (in the next chapter, most likely)! Though if you watch the show Lost Girl, you're probably more than okay with some dirty scenes.

 

Kenzi sat up straight as the Callaway house came into view.

"Wowza," she called, looking at the three story house. Though,  _house_  was a tame word for the gated mansion.

"You're telling me," Bo agreed. She pulled up to the gate and, as instructed, hit the "call" intercom button on the panel.

"Yes?" A feminine voice rang out from the speaker.

"Miss Kylie? It's Bo Dennis. We spoke earlier."

The gate made a loud mechanical whirring noise at it began unlocking, brass pieces moving as it swung inward.

"Of course, Miss Dennis." Kylie spoke again. "You can park in front of the garage, next to the gardener's truck," she instructed.

"Of course," Kenzi pantomimed in a snooty voice. "Next to the gardener's truck."

Bo grinned. "So this is how the upper class lives, huh?"

They drove slowly down the driveway taking in the well-manicured lawn and impeccable landscaping. The house looked like it belonged near a beach in Southern California.

"So what's the game plan, Bo-Bo?" Kenzi asked once they parked and were heading towards the double front doors.

"Well, despite your 'gut feeling' that she did it, we don't have any reason to suspect the assistant." Bo said.

" _Yet_." Kenzi drawled.

Bo simply grinned at her, before giving the door a firm knock. Moments later a shadow moved in front of the frosted glass door and it opened to reveal a beautiful, young women, her face pinched in worry.

"Miss Dennis?" She asked.

Bo nodded. "Bo is fine." She said. "May we come in and talk? Take a look around?"

The woman quickly moved out of the way. "Of course, of course. I'm sorry, come in." She babbled.

"This is my partner Kenzi, she's going to be assisting me today." Bo said.

"Sup?" Kenzi nodded to her, looking around the foyer in with big eyes. The marble floor stretched out to the grand entrance way and a curling staircase that led to the second floor.

"Nice to meet you," Kylie said distractedly. "Do you have any leads yet? The police aren't even looking for Derek anymore. They think he left on his own." She said angrily.

"And you don't?" Bo asked.

"Of course not!" She said "He wouldn't leave us—"

"Us?" Kenzi turned, brows raising. "Is this one of those Big Love things?" Kenzi asked.

"No," Kylie scowled. "You have to understand—the three of us? We're family. I've known Bonnie and Derek for years. Bonnie and I have been best friends since we were kids. And when Derek came into the picture, I was right there to watch them fall in love. They're perfect for each other." She said with a watery smile. "They're both my best friends."

"How did you end up working for Mrs. Callaway then?"

"Bonnie needed me." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "I was working for a big PR firm downtown when Bonnie's career took off. She's always been the one to do everything on her own, never asks for help." She rolled her eyes. "But she needed help badly. She was working 60 hour weeks, running herself into the ground."

"One day Derek came to me and begged me to talk to her. She wouldn't listen to him, said she didn't trust anyone not to screw up her work. She was exhausted, sick all the time. So one day I marched into my office, quit my job and never looked back. I picked up coffee, went to Bonnie's office while she was at a meeting and organized all of her mess and rescheduled all of her appointments for the next two days."

Kylie smiled fondly. "Bonnie flipped when she found out. But I didn't exactly give her a choice. I showed up the next day to make sure she took her day off, and the next one too. I just started showing up every day, sometimes picking her up from the house."

"Eventually Bonnie stopped complaining and just started paying me. I think she was afraid I would just keep showing up, even for free. I moved into the guest house after a few months. That was a few years ago."

"Guest house?" Bo asked.

"It's more of a pool house, but yeah. Bonnie and Derek both do very well for themselves."

"Any you?" Kenzi crossed her arms. "Feeling a little jipped? I mean, you quit a great job to clean up after your bestie. Gotta hurt."

Kylie let out a dry laugh. "I make twice what I would have made at that PR firm. Maybe more." She boasted. "Like I said, Bonnie does well for herself."

"But still," Bo reasoned. "Working for your best friend, living with her, can't be easy."

"So what," Kylie asked. "I killed Derek because I sometimes argue with Bonnie? Of course not." She said. "Bonnie and I have disagreements about work sometimes. But it always blows over five minutes later. At the end of the day, our friendship always comes first."

Bo looked over at Kenzi, who grudgingly understood that. She lived with and worked for/with her best friend too, after all.

"Can you walk us through the last time you saw Derek?" Bo asked.

Kenzi tuned them out and began walking around the large house. She looked at some of the pictures on the wall. Bonnie and Derek, happily smiling in all of them. Kylie was in a lot of them too, smiling just as happily. She stared at a picture of the three of them, Derek laughing in the middle, arms around both women's shoulders, Bonnie and Kylie on both sides both staring up at him adoringly. Another photo next to it was of just Kylie and Derek, meaning Bonnie was probably taking the picture. They were on a fishing boat, wearing life jackets and holding up their catch. Kylie was laughing at Derek whose fish was half the size of hers. Something about the photos were niggling at the back of her mind but she couldn't quite grasp it.

She kept wandering, touching things here and there, imagining living in a place like this. She made her way upstairs, looking for anything out of the ordinary, until she came to the master suite.

"Come to mama," she purred seductively as she took in the master, one side with a flat screen and decadent looking couches set up as a living space. And the other a California king sized bed.

On both end tables there were small stacks of books, picture frames and knick-knacks. The same niggling sensation at the back of her mind had her crossing to the left side of the bed. Distantly, she heard Bo call her name, but ignored it.

When she reached the middle of the room a chill shot up her spine, freezing her on the spot. Something familiar pulled at her chest, a warm sensation spreading through her stomach quickly.

"Kenzi?" Bo called her voice closer this time.

The warm sensation quickly heated up to a burning sensation, one that spread quickly to her lungs making it hard to breathe. Her head lolled forward on her shoulders.

"Kenz?" Bo asked from behind her. "You weren't answering me. You okay?" She asked.

Kenzi tried to open her mouth to speak but found that her mouth wouldn't open. She tried to draw a breath again to speak, and her lungs didn't budge. 'Oh fae,' she thought, finally recognizing the sensation. She was crossing over.

"Kenzi?!" Bo's panicked voice sounded further away this time, though logically she knew that Bo was closer.

Kenzi's vision began to gray just as the temperature in the room plummeted.

"Not again," Kenzi shivered, rubbing her arms. Turning, she saw that Bo and Kylie were both frozen in place with worried looks on their faces, Bo's even more so.

Looking past her, Kenzi searched all the corners of the room quickly, analyzing the shadows, looking for any movement.

" _Ke…zi_ " A faint whisper called out from her left.

Turning quickly, Kenzi didn't see anything. A buzzing, or humming sensation caught her senses though. An object on the bedside table was faintly  _glowing_. The picture frame on the bed's left bedside table had a faintly yellow glow around it, the only object of color in the gray. She was pulled towards it. Her hand reached out for it on its own volition.

" _Ke… Don't"_ The whisper called.  _"…n!"_

In a daze she reached for the object, just as she touched it she was sucked into another version of the bedroom. This time it was in color, but hazy, shifting, almost as if it would fall apart at any moment.

There on the bed sat Derek.

"Derek!" Kenzi called to him.

There was no sign that he heard her as he sat holding the picture frame. His face was one of despair as he sat staring at the frame.

"Derek, answer me!" Kenzi shouted, a chill racing up her spine.

The temperature in the room wasn't as bad now, but her body had a deep chill she couldn't shake. In answer he just stroked the glass of the frame. Kenzi walked over to him and reach out a hand to his shoulder, which promptly went through him.

"Oh, balls!" She yelled, yanking her hand back quickly. She leaned over to look at the picture but it was hazy, changing from one image to another so quickly, she couldn't see what it was. On the bedside table, his alarm clock glowed. It was the same morning that he disappeared.

"Who are you looking at, Derek?" She called out to him. "Does this have something to do with what happened to you?"

There was no answer. He put the picture frame back on the bedside table and quickly walked through Kenzi, and into the master bathroom.

"Watch it, buddy!" She called after him, the chills racing up her spine again, this time stronger.

She moved after him bet when she moved to open the bathroom door, the image quickly faded and she was back in the gray image of the room. Over her should Bo and Kylie had moved minutely. Barely enough to notice unless you had been looking for it.

What had moved were the shadows. They had creeped out much farther than they had when she first entered the room. An artic breeze swirled through the room, blowing Kenzi's hair into her face.

"— _un!"_ A whisper called out faintly. Kenzi held her breath and listened closer, trying to tune out the wind. Suddenly her shoulders were gripped tightly, and she buckled in response.

"Ahh—" She screamed. The deathly grip on her shoulders kept her upright. She was spun around quickly, and her eyes met a pale, sunken in, gray face of a women, straggles of hair were stuck to her face. She looked like she could be 18, or 80. Her face was so haggard and sunken in, there was no way to tell.

"KENZI," the woman screamed loudly. "RUN!"

Kenzi was pushed back a couple of feet forcefully just as the woman was yanked into a dark shadow that appeared behind her, the woman gone in an instant, terror on her face until the last millisecond. Heart racing and hands shaking, Kenzi reached up and covered her eyes, and forcing her eyes shut.

"Come on, Kenzi." She growled. "You can do this."

She felt a presence directly in front of her, and the front of her body was immediately covered in goosebumps. Ignoring it, she focused on the heat in her stomach, and forced it to spread outward. Her lungs began to burn and her hands shook even more. Focusing on that sensation, Kenzi let it course through her until the floor gave out beneath her, swallowing her whole.

"Shit," Kenzi mumbled to herself as she crumbled to the ground.

Hands immediately wrapped around her, one around her shoulder and one pushing her hair out of her eyes and pulling her face up to meet Bo's, eyes wide with fear.

"Kenzi? Talk to me." She called, searching her eyes. "Are you okay? What just happened?"

Kenzi took deep breaths, focusing on the fire leaving her chest.

"I'm okay, Bo-Bo." Kenzi said, reaching up and holding Bo's wrist, grounding herself. "Just took a quick stroll on the other side."

"You just faded away Kenzi!" Bo said loudly. "You just disappeared. Don't ever do that to me again!" Bo shook her shoulders. "Do you hear me? Never again. Your training stops NOW, Kenzi."

"Um—can someone please explain to me what just happened?" Behind them, Kylie was ghostly white.

"That wasn't planned Bo," Kenzi pulled her hand off of her cheek and gripped it, using it to help her stand. After a couple woozy seconds with Bo steadying her, she felt strong enough to let go.

She turned to look at the bed. "I think something pulled me to the other side."

"What?" Bo asked. "What do you mean  _pulled_?"

"I don't know," Kenzi mumbled and pulled away from Bo.

She walked over to the bedside table. On it, was a half-full glass of water, a pair of reading glasses, a worn book or two, the alarm clock, and a picture frame. She immediately picked it up, but the picture had been removed. It was empty.

"What was in this frame?" Kenzi asked Kylie quickly.

"Um—" A flush rose to the young woman's cheeks, restoring some of her color. "It was a photo of me and Bonnie." She swallowed, "the police think Derek took it with him when he left. It's the only thing missing from the house. Derek's wallet and car keys are even still here. All of his shoes…" She trailed off.

"Kenzi," Bo interrupted. "Will you please tell me what just happened here?"

"It's hard to explain Bo-Bo." Kenzi tried. "But I think I got pulled into one of Derek's memories."

"Can that happen?" Bo asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged her leather studded shoulders. "At first it was the same, black and white, cold, creepy… But then I noticed this glowing light and when I touched it BAM!" She yelled making all three of them jump a bit. "I got sucked into a memory."

"And you're sure it's Derek's?" Bo asked.

"Yeah, it's just a feeling I got from it. And it was from the morning he disappeared. He was staring at this picture frame, looking like a pouting puppy."

Bo turned to Kylie. "Why would Derek be staring sadly at that picture? What was the context of the picture?"

Kylie's mouth opened a few times, staring at Kenzi, then back to Bo. "It was—It was just a photo. Derek took it. The three of us were at a pub by our college. Bonnie and Derek had just started dating, I introduced them actually. And the three of us went out after finals. I made some lame joke and Bonnie laughed so hard. I don't know when Derek took the photo, but it was always one of our favorites. I have a copy somewhere."

"We'll need to borrow it," Bo told her. Turning back to Kenzi, "did anything else happen in the memory?"

Kenzi shook her head. "He went into the bathroom and shut the door. I couldn't follow so I 'hopped' back."

She chose to leave out the terrifying fact that some ghostly woman who apparently knew her, warned her to leave before getting sucked into a black hole of darkness. She felt the echo of the woman's scream and shivered.

"You said something pulled you?" Bo asked. "How?"

"No fricken clue," Kenzi stood and walked back over to the spot where she felt the heat rise up in her chest. Just as she reached that spot she began to feel it again, dimmer this time.

"Do you feel that?" She reached her hand out into the air sensing how thin the barrier between realms was in this one spot.

Bo came up beside her and mimicked her actions, before letting her hand fall. "I can sense something, something almost fae, but not quite." Bo explained.

"I think someone did some serious ju-ju in here, Bo-Bo."

"One of you is going to have to explain what I just saw." Kylie told them, face still a little pale.

"As soon as you show us that picture," Bo agreed.

 

* * *

 

 

Kylie wasn't able to answer many questions after that. After she took them to her guest house and grabbed the picture off of her fireplace mantel she sat on the couch staring at the wall.

"I think we broke her," Kenzi told Bo later on the way home.

"It's not every day you see someone disappear only to reappear a second later halfway across the room." Bo said sardonically.

"It was a lot longer for me," Kenzi said.

"Kenzi," Bo called. "I'm serious, I don't want you doing that anymore. You scared the shit out of me back there. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. If you had gotten stuck over there…" She trailed off.

"Babe," Kenzi said reaching over and rubbing her arm. "I'm not going anywhere. And if I did, you and Trickster, All-Hail and Wolf Man would come save me and you know it."

"This isn't a joke, Kenz." Bo said forcefully, shooting her a glare. "You and Dyson are done with the Shadow Thief training, and that's the end of it."

"That's not your call, Sugar Crotch." Kenzi said. "I finally feel like I have a way of helping you guys. Like I'm not dead weight, silly human anymore. And I already have better control over it. It only took me a minute to cross back over this time." She said proudly.

"And what about next time? If you can't cross back over? How are we supposed to cross over? You said it yourself, time moves different there. You could be dead by the time we realize you're gone."

"You'll find a way Bo. I know you," she said soothingly. "For now, let's just focus on this picture. And what it has to do with Derek's disappearance."

Grudgingly, Bo agreed.

"Did you get any info from Kylie while I was looking around?" Kenzi asked. "Anything suspicious?"

"No," Bo sighed. "She seems just as distraught as Mrs. Callaway. I know you've got it out for her Kenz, but I don't think she had any ill intentions towards the guy."

"Then what was with all of the boxes in her guest house. She was moving out, wasn't she." It wasn't a question.

"To a rental house right down the road." Bo explained. "She said she wanted some more space. And it's not like she can't afford it."

"Okay, but did you see all of the photo's with the three of them in it? Don't they seem a bit too close to you?"

"Considering how long they've known each other? Not really. And they've been living together for years now, Kylie even fixed their marriage when it was crumbling. What motive does she have?"

Kenzi sighed. "I don't know yet."

Bo grinned at the disappointed look on her best friend's face. "Come on, let's go ask Mrs. Callaway about this photo. Maybe she'll have some better answers for us."

 

* * *

 

"What exactly does Mrs. Callaway do?" Kenzi asked skeptically as a stunning receptionist decked out in high fashion led them down a hallway to a giant glass office. Inside, Bonnie Callaway stood facing out the window with tears on her cheeks.

"She works in high price real estate." Bo whispered as the receptionist knocked on the door quickly before opening it and announcing their presence.

"Ladies," Mrs. Callaway called out, grabbing a tissue off of her desk and quickly wiped her face. "Please, come in, take a seat. Do you have any new information?"

"Not exactly," Bo said as the two of them sat in the chairs in front of the desk. She held out the picture of her and Kylie to her. "What can you tell me about this picture?"

Mrs. Callaway took it with a surprised look on her face. "This picture? Why?" She asked, sniffling. "What does this have to do with Derek's disappearance?"

"We're not sure yet, Bon-Bon." Kenzi said to her, crossing her legs and getting comfortable in the chair. "Tell us about the photo and maybe we'll know."

Bo shot her a warning look. "Mrs. Callaway—"

"Bonnie, please." She interrupted, looking down at the photo with a sad smile.

"Bonnie," Bo said hesitantly. "This photo was the  _only_  thing missing from the house. So we think it might be directly involved somehow."

"Okay," Bonnie drawled skeptically. "Uh—I mean. Derek took this photo. You know Kylie introduced us?" She asked expectantly.

"She mentioned something to that effect." Bo responded.

"Yeah," she smiled fondly. "One day she came storming into our dorm room and told me she met my soulmate. Turns out she was right." She wiped a fresh tear from her cheek with the tissue. "They met in debate class. She said he was a know-it-all jerk with the looks of one of those stupid sculptures of men that I adored. So I obviously would love him." She said humorously. "She said she had interrogated him after class and that he was perfect for me and arranged for us to have coffee." She trailed off, lost in a memory.

"And I guess it went well?" Bo asked.

"It was love at first sight." She said wistfully. "We talked for hours, well past curfew, until Kylie came searching for us thinking he had kidnapped me. Their friendship was always hard to understand. They teased each other and bickered constantly, but they were inseparable too. It was always the three of us, from the very beginning. This photo was taken a few months after Derek and I became official. The three of us went for beers after finals had finally passed and he took this somewhere between beer five and ten."

"Was there anything significant about this night that might upset Derek?" Bo asked.

"Or make him ditch his seemingly perfect life?" Kenzi asked.

Bonnie glared at her. "No. This was one of our happiest memories together. We graduated shortly after this and we all started our careers. We still saw Kylie all the time, but it just wasn't the same until she came to live with us."

"Did Derek and Kylie grow apart too?"

"Hm," Bonnie hummed. "Not really. If anything, it was me that grew a little further from the two of them. My career was much more demanding of my time. Derek and I were living together by that point, so he's the one who kept our little group together. He instated a mandatory "date night" for the three of us at least once a week." She trailed off. "This is Derek's favorite picture. He always said that everyone in the world he loved was in this one photo."

Bo furrowed her brow, a thought clicking in her head.

"And Kylie? Did she have any serious love interests over the years?" Bo asked.

"One or two," Bonnie shrugged, "None that worked out obviously."

"What about recently?" Bo pushed.

"Well, I think she was seeing someone a few months ago," she said. "I'd hear a motorcycle pull up and take off at odd hours of the night. But she said it was just some Tinder guy. Nothing serious."

"Didn't you and Derek ever meet him?"

Bonnie frowned, "I don't like to push Kylie. She would tell us if he was someone worth meeting."

"Did Derek have a problem with Kylie dating?"

She frowned. "Why would he?"

"You tell me," Bo encouraged.

"I mean," Bonnie hesitated. "He didn't like the random guys she brought home. She was always meeting these 'shmos' on random dating apps, having one night stands. Derek didn't approve."

"Why do you think that is?" Bo asked.

"I don't know," she said exasperated. "He's very protective of her. What does this have to do with his disappearance?"

"Bonnie, what do you know about the fae?" Kenzi interrupted. This was taking much longer than she thought.

"Kenzi!" Bo scolded.

"Fae?" Bonnie asked confusedly. "Like faeries? And leprechauns?"

"Leprechauns?" Kenzi asked.

"What Kenzi means to say," Bo shot her another look. "Is that we think something supernatural might be involved."

"Like what?" Bonnie asked.

"We're not sure yet." Kenzi explained. "But some serious ju-ju went down in your bedroom that morning and we're going to find out what."

As Bo and Kenzi pulled away from the curb, Bo explained to Kenzi her thoughts.

"Remember when you made that Big Love joke at the Callaway house?" Bo asked.

"Yeah," Kenzi drawled.

"I think you were right about that. There's something that neither of these women is telling us and I'm going to find out what."

"And how are we going to do that exactly?"

"Well we didn't see anything weird in Derek's credit card statements, but I have a feeling Bonnie and Kylie's will tell a different story. And  _you_  are going to call your cousin Vlad and get us the photos off Derek's cloud storage. Let's see what's hiding under the covers."

 

* * *

 

On the way back to the crack-shack Bo made a quick stop at the station to pick up the credit card statements that she had called in on the way over. This time Kenzi elected to stay in the car. She didn't trust herself to be around Dyson right now, especially with Hale around.

Her mind was playing their kiss on an endless loop. She didn't think that their first kiss all those weeks ago could be topped. That one had started out slow and quickly ignited to a passionate  _deep_  kiss. Dyson's mouth practically seduced her that night. And the way he had pulled her body as close to him as physically possible… She'd be lying if she said she didn't fantasize about what could have happened if he hadn't pulled away that night. If Bo's mother hadn't been at the door.

And then tonight, the kiss was so similar and yet so different. There was no warming up this time, no tentative first caresses. This was a man starving who was offered a feast. His kissed her like she was the answer to all of life's questions. He kissed her like he knew about the things she fantasized about in the safety of her bedroom with her hand buried between her legs and his name on her lips. She knew that when she rested her head on her pillow tonight, that she would be thinking of his strong mouth, and the wicked things his tongue had promised her. The strong grip of his rough palms roughly gripping her backside dragging her up against his strong hips to rest against his considerable erection.

She imagined him taking her against that wall in the interrogation room, pants shoved down hastily. His hips pounding against hers, forcing her up higher on the wall with each thrust. The burn of her stretched muscles…

"So now you're hiding from me?" Dyson purred, leaning his arms against the open window of the passenger seat where she was now jolting upright, hands leaving the tops of her thighs where they had been caressing to grip the sides of the seat.

"Geezus, Teen Wolf, wear a bell or something."

Dyson just smiled softly at her. "I'm pretty sure you'd prefer me wearing less clothing Kenz, not more."

"Why, are you thinking of becoming an Abercrombie model?" She batted her eyelashes sweetly.

"Let's talk about whatever you were just daydreaming about before I interrupted you." He said softly, nostrils flaring slightly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Friends don't sniff other friends Dyson."

"Were you thinking about me?" He continued, ignoring her, eyes dragging from her face down her body slowly, ending on where her hands gripped the seat in frustration. He raised an eyebrow at her.

She huffed and released the seat, crossing her arms against her body. "Thinking about calling the pound maybe."

His eyes were still soft as they settled on her cleavage, which was now perked up considerably with her arms crossed.

"Should I pick up a bottle of Chardonnay for tonight?" He asked. "And I wouldn't wear anything you're particularly fond of either."

Heat ran through her at the thought of them sipping wine at his place and then him tearing her clothes off. Nothing good could come of it, or well, too much good. She felt her breathing pick up at the thought.

He reached inside the car with one hand and tugged on one of her hands, releasing it from its place, his palm gripping her around her wrist before giving it a gentle squeeze and  _holy fucking shit_ , that move is unexpectedly erotic.

"Do you know anything about safe words?" He purred. And if it wasn't already, her thong was instantly soaked now.

"Safe words?" She croaked, throat dry.

"Hmm," he hummed in agreement. "I think you should have one, given your human status. Just in case."

"What happened to giving me time?" She demanded, her voice way more husky than planned.

"Oh you'll have it," he grinned a wolfy smile. "I've decided that I'd like to hear you begging for my touch."

"You're touching me now."

"Memorize it," he told her softly. "Because outside of our training, this will be the last touch you'll receive from me until you beg me for it."

His eyes were heavily dilated, and she imagined hers were no better. She could feel the flush on her cheeks and tightness of her nipples against the lace cup of her bra. There was a steady throb in her center and she wondered if this was the reaction he could draw from her with just one touch and a three-minute conversation, what he could do with a night with no boundaries.

"Bo will be out with the credit card statements in a minute," he warned her, sending ice water through her veins that quickly snapped her out of her hormone-infused state. "Bo said something happened at the Callaway house?"

While her body was catching up, her mind was still trying to pick itself out of the gutter and back into normal conversation but she couldn't stop thinking of his hands around her wrists, safe words, and her begging for him to touch her.

"Banana," she said suddenly.

He cocked his head at her, and Kenzi suddenly had the image of his wolf doing the same. With a smile she reached out and caressed the line of his jaw with the tips of her nails.

"Banana for slow down." She said. "Pomegranate for stop."

She watched his breathing pick up and he squeezed her wrist lightly once more before letting go completely. In return, she released his jaw.

"Okay." He purred.

"Okay."

They stared at each other for another couple of seconds until Dyson's head tilted slightly and he whispered, "Bo."

Moments later Bo comes out of the building and Dyson rights himself, standing up.

"Get everything you need?" He asked Bo.

"Looks like it." Bo said, "Thanks Dyson." She slid into the driver's seat and turned to the two of them on her right. "By the way, I promised Hale that the three of us would grab drinks at The Dal tonight, please don't be mad." She said quickly.

"Bo-Bo!" Kenzi admonished.

Dyson let his head fall back on his shoulders as he looked up at the sky, releasing a heavy sigh.

"I know, I know." She said apologetically. "But he was talking about how we haven't all been in a while and he needed to talk to you anyway, and I figured it would be better in a group setting so that it couldn't get weird. I'm actually doing you a favor." She informed Kenzi.

"Some favor," she grumbled. Chancing a look at Dyson, she saw his shoulders were tensed. "What do you say Wolf Man? Drinks at the Dal instead? I'll buy." She cajoled.

His shoulders released their tension on a laugh. "When's the last time you paid for your own drink? Let alone someone else's?"

"It's the thought that counts." She insisted.

"Right," he smiled tapping the side of the car as he started heading back towards the precinct. "I want to hear about this incident at the Callaway house at The Dal later." He called over his shoulder before turning back to her before entering the building. "And you'll owe me a practice, bright and early tomorrow morning. It's gonna hurt," he warned with a wolfish grin and disappeared before she could protest.

"Shit," Kenzi breathed, wondering  _what the fae_ had just happened.

"Shit indeed," Bo echoed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! A few of you have PMed me to ask if they could submit ideas for this story! Please feel free to send them along. If it doesn't fit in this story, I would be happy to write you a one-shot! I will always accept requests!
> 
> As always, follow/favorite/kudos and review!


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